Fuel prices hiked again today; Petrol nears Rs 100 in Delhi, diesel past century mark in MP

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked again on Sunday, July 4, taking fuel rates across the country to a record high.

While the price of petrol was increased by 35 paise per litre, diesel rate was raised by 18 paise a litre, as per the price notification by oil retailers. Following Sunday's fuel price hike, petrol has breached the Rs 100-mark in nine state capitals.

Petrol is past Rs 100 a litre in metro cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune and it is over Rs 99 in other two cities of Delhi and Kolkata.

Also Read: Fuel retailers to keep petrol pumps shut in Kolkata in protest against rising petrol, diesel prices

The increase, the 34th in two months, took petrol's rate in Delhi close to Rs 100 per litre, whereas Diesel is hovering above Rs 89 per litre. A litre of petrol now costs Rs 99.51 a litre, while that of diesel is priced at Rs 89.36, respectively, in the national capital. 

Meanwhile, in other key cities too, petrol prices continue to touch new highs. In Mumbai, it costs Rs 105.58 per litre. A litre of diesel in the financial capital is being sold at Rs 96.91 per litre. 

In Chennai, petrol has crossed Rs 100, and is currently retailing at Rs 100.44 a litre. In Kolkata, petrol price is also inching closer to the three-figure mark. With Sunday's hike, it now costs Rs 99.45 per litre in the capital of West Bengal. 

In conjunction with petrol rates, diesel prices in Chennai and Kolkata now stand at Rs 93.91 and Rs 92.27 a litre, respectively.

Two more state capitals joined the list of cities where fuel prices have surpassed the psychological mark of Rs 100. In Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar, a litre of petrol currently costs Rs 100.30 per litre, while diesel is priced at Rs 97.39 a litre. 

Many other places in the state have already seen petrol rate go over Rs 100 before. In Cuttack, the price of a litre of petrol stands at Rs 100.3. 

Also Read: Petrol price rises, crosses Rs 105 in Mumbai; diesel remains unchanged

In Sikkim's Gangtok, a litre of petrol and diesel is priced at Rs 100.15 and Rs 91.55.

Meanwhile, diesel price on Sunday crossed the Rs 100 a litre mark in some places in Madhya Pradesh.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges. For this reason, petrol has crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar, Punjab and Ladakh.
 
Rates of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, have crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan as well in some places in Odisha. And on Sunday, Rewa, Shahdol and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh saw those levels.

The hike on Sunday was the 34th increase in the price of petrol and 33rd in case of diesel since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

Also Read: Petrol, diesel prices hurting industry; time to cut fuel rates, says CII president

In 34 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 9.11 per litre. Diesel rates have soared by Rs 8.63 a litre in 33 instances of price increase.

Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15 days, and foreign exchange rates.

International oil prices have climbed in recent weeks on optimism of a quick recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude touched the $75 per barrel mark, the first time since April 2019.