After reaching a historic high, the diesel prices decreased by 15 to 17 paise on July 12. However, the price of petrol were hiked again by 25 to 34 paise on the day, taking the prices across the country to another high, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers.
The decline in diesel prices have come after more than two months. With the first decrease in months, the diesel retailed at Rs 97.33 per litre in Mumbai, down by 17 paise from the pevious day price of Rs 97.5 per litre.
Petrol price, which has already crossed Rs 100 in more than half of the country, rose to Rs 107.24 a litre in Mumbai with an increase of 27 paise from the previous day price of Rs 106.97. The city, on May 29, became the first metro in the country where petrol was being sold at over the Rs 100-a-litre mark.
In Delhi, the petrol price crossed Rs 101 mark with an increase of 28 paise, while the diesel price decreased by 16 paise. With the latest revision of prices, petrol retailed at Rs 101.23 per litre and diesel at 89.76 per litre in the national capital on the day.
Kolkata and Chennai also saw a similar trend as the petrol prices increased in the two metros, while the rate of diesel saw a decline on the day.
In Kolkata, petrol price reached Rs 101.39 per litre with an increase of 34 paise from the previous day price of Rs 101.05 per litre. Diesel price decreased by 15 paise to reach Rs 92.86 per litre.
Chennai also saw an increase in petrol prices by 25 paise, but the diesel price decreased by 15 paise. The latest hike took the prices of a litre of petrol and diesel each to Rs 101.96 and Rs 94.28 in Tamil Nadu’s capital.
The hike in petrol prices on July 12 was the 39th increase in the price of petrol since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Petrol has crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar, Punjab, Ladakh, Sikkim, Puducherry and Delhi.
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.