PremiumPetrol and diesel prices have hiked again by 70 paise and 80 paise respectively on Saturday, according to data by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL). This is the fourth hike in the past five days. The oil companies have continued to increase the petrol and disel prices since March 22 (except on March 24).
A record 137-day hiatus in rate revision ended on March 22 with an 80 paise per litre increase in rates of petrol and diesel, and similar proportion hikes have followed in subsequent days.
On Saturday, the cost of petrol in the national capital Delhi surged to ₹98.61/litre while diesel climbed to ₹89.87 per litre, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
On the other hand, in Mumbai petrol has been increased by 84 paise to ₹113.35 while in Chennai the fuel went up by 76 paise to ₹104.43. In Kolkata, rates increased to ₹108.01 from ₹107.18 (83 paise hike).
Petrol and diesel prices had been a freeze since November 4---- a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by $30 per barrel. The rate revision was expected after the result of the five states assembly election (post-March 10), but it was put off.
Moody's Investors Services says fuel retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL together lost around $2.25 billion ( ₹19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during elections in five states.
According to the Centre, the fuel prices are up because of the Russia-Ukraine war. In a session, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said, " In India, 80% of the oil is imported. Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the oil prices have spiralled up within international markets and we can not do anything about that".
He said he has been making a pitch for making India self-reliant since 2004, “with which, we need to make our own fuel," while laying stress on the need for developing indigenous energy generation capabilities.
“India will soon have a ₹40,000 crore ethanol, methanol, and bio-ethanol production economy, reducing our dependence on petroleum imports," Gadkari assured.
Petrol Prices on March 26, 2022
Diesel Prices on March 26, 2022
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