Petrol, diesel prices remained unchanged for the sixth consecutive day, the longest period in weeks. Accordingly, in Delhi, while petrol continued to be sold at Rs 101.84 per litre, diesel remained unchanged at Rs 89.87 a litre on July 23.
The price of fuel has been static since July 18. It rose on July 17 with petrol being revised upwards by 30 paisa per litre while diesel prices remained unchanged.
In Mumbai, where petrol prices crossed Rs 100 mark for the first time ever on May 29, the fuel price is at Rs 107.83 per litre. Diesel price in the financial capital is also at Rs 97.45, the highest among metros.
With no change in prices, petrol and diesel cost Rs 102.08 and 93.02, respectively, in Kolkata.
In Chennai, people shell out Rs 102.49 for a litre of petrol, while diesel costs Rs 94.39 per litre in Tamil Nadu’s capital.
In Rajasthan's Ganganagar, petrol price has reached as high as Rs 113.21 per litre while diesel costs Rs 103.15
Petrol prices in all metros are above Rs 100 per litre.
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.
The relentless price increase has pushed petrol rates above the Rs 100-a-litre mark in most places in 15 states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar and Punjab and at a couple of districts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Rates are also above the sensitive Rs 100 per litre level in four Union Territories including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Diesel, the most used fuel in the country, is above that level in some places in Rajasthan, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
As much as 55 percent of the retail selling price of petrol in Delhi is made up of taxes (Rs 32.90 a litre excise duty collected by the central government and Rs 22.80 VAT levied by the state government). Half of the diesel price is made up of taxes (Rs 31.80 central excise and Rs 13.04 state VAT).