Petrol, diesel prices hiked again today; up to Rs 7.67 per litre rise in 13 days

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked for 13th consecutive day across all major cities of the country on Friday. With this, petrol has seen a hike of Rs 7.11 per litre and diesel prices have increased by Rs 7.67 per litre. Petrol and diesel saw 56 and 63 paise rise in prices in Delhi. Mumbai reported 55 and 60 paise rise in petrol and diesel prices. Kolkata saw 54 paise rise in petrol, while 57 paise rise in diesel. In Chennai, petrol prices increased by 50 paise, while diesel prices rose 54 paise.

Petrol and diesel prices in four metro cities today

• New Delhi: Rs 78.37 for petrol, Rs 77.06 for diesel
• Kolkata: Rs 80.13 for petrol, Rs 72.53 for diesel
• Mumbai: Rs 85.21 for petrol, Rs 75.53 for diesel
• Chennai: Rs 81.82 for petrol, Rs 74.77 for diesel

Price build-up for petrol and diesel

The base price for petrol is Rs 22.11 per litre in Delhi. After adding freight charges of 0.33, the price charged from dealers stands at Rs 22.44 per litre. The government charges Rs 32.98 per litre excise duty. Add to that the average dealer commission and VAT, the final petrol price in Delhi comes out to be Rs 78.37 per litre.

Similarly, the base price for diesel is Rs 22.93. After adding freight (30 paise), excise duty, dealer commission and VAT, the final retail price comes out to be Rs 77.06 per litre.

Why are fuel prices rising?

The reason petrol and diesel prices are rising because the government revenue from other sources has plummeted due to coronavirus lockdown in recent months.  A large part of fuel prices in India constitutes excise duty imposed by the government. The government raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 10, and on diesel, by Rs 13 a litre on 6 May as Indian basket of the crude oil prices came crashing down from $70 a barrel in January this year to below $20 by the end of April.

The excise duty on branded petrol is Rs 44.16 per litre, while on branded high-speed diesel it is Rs 34.19 a litre. Apart from excise duty, state VAT and customs duties are also levied on petroleum products, which add to the government revenue.

Crude Oil prices

Meanwhile, oil prices pushed higher in early trade on Friday, building on gains in the previous session, after OPEC producers and allies promised to meet their supply cut commitments and two major oil traders said demand was recovering well, Reuters reported. US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures climbed 23 cents, or 0.6%, to $39.07 a barrel at 0209 GMT, while Brent crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $41.69 a barrel. Both contracts rose around 2% on Thursday.

Also read: Why petrol, diesel prices are rising? There's a lockdown connection