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NEW DELHI: Petrol in the national capital sold for ₹100.21 a litre on Tuesday, after oil marketing companies raised prices by 80 per litre. Diesel prices were raised by 70 paise, taking the total increase in fuel rates in one week to ₹4.80 per litre.
In Mumbai, petrol is retailing for 115.04 a litre after an 85 paise hike, and diesel prices rose 75 paise to ₹99.25.
Domestic oil marketing companies have been raising pump prices to recoup losses accumulated over a four-month prices when rates were kept unchanged even as global prices surged, especially following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, by over $40 per barrel.
On Tuesday, however, international benchmarks declined due to concerns over a fall in demand amid a fresh surge in covid-19 infections in China, which has led to a nine-day lockdown in the financial hub Shanghai.
At 0910am, the May contract of Brent on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $111.15 per barrel, down 1.18% from previous close. The May contract of West Texas Intermediate on the NYMEX fell 1.01% to $104.89 a barrel.
JP Morgan recently lowered its expectation on the second-quarter oil demand in China by 520,000 barrels per day to 15.8 million barrels a day.
Crude oil prices have largely risen over the past month since Russia's invasion of Ukraine but a likely global slowdown amid China's covid cases and prolonged crisis in eastern Europe have been weighing on sentiments lately.
Abheek Barua, chief economist, HDFC Bank, said: “A slowdown is looming large and may hit globally in the second half of FY23, pulling down the demand for oil and eventually the oil prices to much lower level than current prices."
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