PremiumAfter a hike for the second time this month, petrol prices crossed the record ₹100-mark in Leh, almost all districts of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Telangana on Friday.
According to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers, petrol got costlier by 27 paise per litre and diesel by 28 paise per litre.
The hike - 18th in the last 30 days - took fuel prices across the country to a historic high.
After this, petrol was retailing at an all-time high of ₹94.76 a litre in Delhi, while diesel is now priced at ₹85.66 per litre.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.
Hence, the price of the fuel is well above the ₹100-per-litre mark in all districts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra -- the states which levy the highest value-added tax (VAT) in the country.
Following the relentless increase, fuel rates in places like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Leh, too, have reached unprecedented levels.
Petrol is sold at over ₹100 per litre in almost all districts of Andhra Pradesh, except Vizag where it costs 99.75 a litre. Diesel in Vizag is priced at ₹94.08 per litre.
In Telangana, petrol prices crossed the psychological level in Adilabad ( ₹100.57) and Nizamabad ( ₹100.17).
Petrol costs ₹100.43 a litre in Leh.
Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Mumbai on 29 May, became the first metro in the country where petrol was being sold at over ₹100-a-litre mark. Petrol now costs ₹100.98 per litre in the city and diesel comes for ₹92.99.
At Bellary, in Karnataka petrol is being sold at ₹99.83 per litre. In Bengaluru, petrol is priced at ₹97.98 per litre and diesel at ₹90.87.
Rates are at the highest in the country in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan where petrol comes for ₹105.81 a litre and diesel for ₹98.64 per litre. Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district has petrol priced at ₹105.18 a litre and diesel at ₹96.31.
Prices in India had started to shoot up on 4 May, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they had observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.
In 18 increases, petrol price has risen by ₹4.36 per litre and diesel by ₹4.93 a litre.
Retail prices have risen after an increase in international oil prices on investors' optimism that improving demand and a dwindling supply glut may mean the market can absorb any additional production from OPEC and its allies.
Brent crude - the global oil-price benchmark, has risen above USD 71 per barrel for the first time in two years.
Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC, earlier this week agreed to continue relaxing curbs on oil production, signalling their confidence in improving oil demand and a drop in the global supply glut.
The rollout of vaccines is helping governments to reduce coronavirus restrictions and resume more normal economic activity. That will help pare global oil stocks - which at one point last year threatened to overwhelm the world's ability to store them.
With inputs from agencies.
Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!