Petrol and diesel prices increased again on May 18 after being stable for a day. The price of petrol hiked by 26 paise per litre in Mumbai, pushing the price above Rs 99 a litre and inching closer to the Rs 100 mark. A litre of petrol now comes for Rs 99.14 in the financial capital, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers.
The diesel is now priced at Rs 90.71 per litre in Mumbai with an increment of 31 paise on the day.
Petrol in Delhi costs Rs 92.85 per litre on the day, with an increase of 27 paise from the previous day. Meanwhile, diesel in the national capital costs Rs 83.51 litre, up 29 paise.
In Kolkata, the petrol price increased to Rs 92.92 per litre with a hike of 25 paise, while the diesel rate rose to Rs 86.35 a litre, up 29 paise from the previous day.
The petrol and diesel prices increased by 23 paise and 27 paise, respectively in Chennai. A litre of petrol now comes for Rs 94.54, while diesel costs Rs 88.34 in Tamil Nadu’s capital.
A look at the price difference of petrol and diesel in four metro cities on May 18:| City | Petrol (Rs/ltr) | Diesel (Rs/ltr) |
| Mumbai | 99.14 | 90.71 |
| Delhi | 92.85 | 83.51 |
| Kolkata | 92.92 | 86.35 |
| Chennai | 94.54 | 88.34 |
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Oil companies, which have in recent months resorted to unexplained freeze in rate revision, had hit a pause button after cutting prices marginally on April 15. This coincided with electioneering hitting a peak to elect new governments in five states including West Bengal.
No sooner had voting ended than oil companies indicated an impending increase in retail prices in view of firming trends in international oil markets.
Central and state taxes make up for 60 percent of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54 percent of diesel. The union government levies Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 31.80 on diesel.