Petrol Touches New High Of Rs 84.45 In Delhi, Crosses Rs 91 In Mumbai

Petrol price on Wednesday touched a new high of Rs 84.45 per litre in the national capital after state-owned fuel retailers hiked prices after a five-day hiatus.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre each, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.

In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 84.45 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 74.63. In Mumbai, petrol comes for Rs 91.07 a litre and diesel for Rs 81.34.

This is the highest ever price of petrol in Delhi, while diesel is at a record high in Mumbai.

State-owned fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.-- had on Jan. 6, resumed daily price revision after nearly a month-long hiatus.

Rates were hiked on two consecutive days - totaling 49 paise for petrol and 51 paise for diesel - before they hit a pause button again.

The price increase cycle resumed after international oil prices rose for the seventh day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up 1.3% at $53.88 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 79 cents at $57.37.

Both benchmarks are trading at the highest since February, before the coronavirus outbreak in China began spreading across the world, forcing lockdowns that shaved off demand.

Petrol price had scaled to an all-time high of Rs 84.20 per litre on Jan. 7.
The previous highest ever rate of Rs 84 a litre for petrol in Delhi was touched on Oct. 4, 2018. On that day, diesel too had scaled to an all-time high of Rs 75.45 a litre.

The government had responded to that situation by cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre in a bid to ease inflationary pressure and boost consumer confidence. Alongside, state-owned fuel retailers cut prices by another Re 1 a litre, which they recouped later.

The highest level for petrol in Mumbai was on Oct. 4, 2018, when it was Rs 91.34.