Photo Credit: ANI

Petrol price on Wednesday touched a new high of Rs 86.30 per litre in Delhi after state-owned fuel retailers hiked prices.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre each on Wednesday, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.

In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 86.30 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 76.48. Prices of petrol in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata were Rs 92.86, Rs 88.82 and Rs 87.69 per litre, respectively.

Similarly, in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, diesel was sold for Rs 83.30, Rs 81.71 and Rs 80.08 per litre, respectively.

The current rate of petrol is the highest ever in the national capital, while diesel is at a record high in Mumbai.

At Rs 86.30 a litre in Delhi, petrol price has breached the highest level in the national capital after October 4, 2018, when the rate had risen to Rs 84 a litre.

Retail prices of the two automobile fuels are revised daily. Petroleum companies revise petrol and diesel prices on the basis of crude prices in the international market. Hence the prices vary according to the company.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week blamed Saudi oil output cut for the surge in oil prices but remained non-committal on tax cuts.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has pledged additional voluntary output cuts of 1 million barrels per day in February and March, which has led to price climbing to most since the pandemic broke out.

State-owned fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- had on January 6, resumed daily price revision after nearly a month-long hiatus.

Since then, rates have gone up by Rs 2.34 a litre on petrol and Rs 2.36 in case of diesel. This comes after international oil prices firmed up in hopes of demand returning from the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in different countries, including India.

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