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NEW DELHI: Oil marketing companies raised petrol prices by another 80 paise on Thursday, taking the the cumulative price hike, since 22 March, in the national capital to ₹6.40 a litre.
Following the increase, petrol sold for ₹101.81 in Delhi. Diesel sold for ₹93.07 a litre, also up 80 paise from Wednesday.
Petrol prices had touched a record ₹110.04 per litre in November 2021, while diesel hit an all-time high of ₹98.42 per litre in Delhi, before the Centre lowered the excise duty on transport fuels.
In Mumbai, petrol sold for ₹116.72 and diesel for ₹100.94 a litre after prices were increased by 84 paise each on Thursday.
Oil marketing companies are likely to raising fuel prices in the coming days, said experts, to close the gap between domestic retail prices and global oil prices.
Global crude prices slumped more than $5 a barrel on Thursday as the US is considering the release of up to 180 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) over several months to calm soaring crude prices.
At 0930am, the May contract of Brent futures on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $108.30, down 4.54% from previous close. The May contract of West Texas Intermediate on the NYMEX fell 5.27% to $102.14 per barrel.
Oil prices play a major role in India's economy and the budget arithmetic as the country imports around 85% of its energy requirements.
The Indian crude oil basket, comprising of Oman, Dubai and Brent grades was at $109.59 per barrel on 29 March, according to data from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
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