Petrol, diesel prices hiked by Rs 3 per litre each
Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 97.77 a litre, while diesel will be priced at Rs 99.67
Petrol and diesel prices on Friday (May 15) were hiked by Rs 3 per litre each as oil companies passed on part of the spike in global energy prices to consumers.
Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 97.77 a litre, while diesel will be priced at Rs 99.67.
Also read: WPI inflation spikes to 42-month high as Iran crisis raises fuel prices
The increase is a 10th of the desired hike needed to account for the surge in global energy rates since the start of the West Asia conflict.
Price were frozen since April 2022
State-owned oil firms had kept fuel price unchanged for 11 weeks despite a surge in input cost, but passed on part of the increase once operations became financially unsustainable, the sources said.
Prices have remained frozen since April 2022, but had a one-off reduction of Rs 2 a litre each on petrol and diesel in March 2024 just before the Lok Sabha elections.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) had abandoned the daily price revision in April 2022 to insulate domestic consumers from a steep price increase that was warranted because of international oil prices shooting through the roof post Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Heavy losses
They incurred heavy losses in the first half of the 2022-23 fiscal year, which they recouped when rates fell in subsequent months.
But the war in West Asia has again sent international oil prices soaring by over 50 per cent.
The basket of crude oil that India imports averaged USD 69 per barrel in February before the war in West Asia broke out. It averaged USD 113-114 per barrel in subsequent months.
Effective Friday, retail selling prices of petrol and diesel in four Metro cities are as under:
Petrol prices (in Rs per litre):
Delhi 97.77 (+3.00)
Kolkata 108.74 (+3.29) Mumbai 106.68 (+3.14)
Chennai 103.67 (+2.83)
Diesel prices (in Rs per litre):
Delhi 90.67 (+3.00)
Kolkata 95.13 (+3.11)
Mumbai 93.14 (+3.11)
Chennai 95.25 (+2.86)