Petrol, diesel prices remain unchanged for 18th consecutive day; fuel most costly in Mumbai

Petrol and diesel prices remained the same across all major cities in India for the 18th consecutive day. In Delhi, a litre of petrol costs Rs 91.17, while diesel is available at Rs 81.47 per litre. Mumbai, however, continues to quote the highest fuel prices, with petrol costing 81.47 per litre and diesel Rs 88.6.

The difference between the fuel prices in the national capital and the maximum city is because different states have different freight charges, local taxes and VAT. For example, in Delhi, the base price a dealer pays for a litre of petrol is Rs 33.26. Add to this, the freight charges of Rs 0.28 per litre. Now, the excise duty on petrol is a massive Rs 32.90 per litre. Also, the dealer's commission of Rs 3.69 per litre and VAT of Rs 21.04.

A litre of petrol in Chennai costs Rs 93.11 while diesel is available at Rs 86.45 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol is available at Rs 91.35 per litre while diesel can be bought at Rs 84.35 per litre.

The BPCL, IOCL and HPCL revise fuel prices daily according to the benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates. Fuel prices have remained unchanged so far in March. On 27 February, petrol was last hiked by 24 paise per litre and diesel was raised by 15 paise.

Over the past two months, petrol prices have witnessed an increase of Rs 4.87 per litre while diesel rates were raised by Rs 4.99.

Similarly, the cost of cooking gas - after multiple hikes in February - has remained unchanged since 1 March. The price was hiked by another Rs 25 just three days before 1 March. A cylinder now costs Rs 819 in Delhi. Earlier, the prices were increased on 4 February and 14 February.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to slip for the fourth day in succession. While the US WTI crude futures fell to $64.75 a barrel, Brent crude was down 0.2 percent to $68.29 per barrel.