Petrol, diesel prices remain unchanged for 5th consecutive day
The general public can breathe a sigh of relief as fuel prices in India remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive day on Monday. Both petrol and diesel rates were last raised by 80 paise/liter on Wednesday, bringing the total hike in the cost over the last two weeks to Rs. 10/liter. Petrol in Delhi currently costs Rs. 105.41/liter, while diesel costs Rs. 96.67/liter.
Why does this story matter?
Evidently, the hike in fuel prices, which began on March 22 after the conclusion of the Assembly elections in five states, has been burning a hole in commoners' pockets. Ever since, except for the last five days, there were only two days—March 24 and April 1—when the prices remained stable. Notably, fuel prices are rising due to an increase in global crude oil prices.
How much does fuel cost in major cities?
After Wednesday's price revision, the petrol rate in Mumbai stood at Rs. 120.51/liter, and diesel price at Rs. 104.77/liter. The prices of petrol and diesel in New Delhi stood at Rs. 105.41/liter and Rs. 96.67/liter, respectively. In Kolkata, petrol and diesel rates stood at Rs. 115.12/liter and Rs. 99.83/liter, respectively. In Chennai, petrol and diesel currently retail at Rs. 110.85/liter and Rs. 100.94/liter, respectively.
Union Minister questioned about rising fuel prices on flight
Meanwhile, Union Minister Smriti Irani was caught off guard on Sunday on a Delhi-Guwahati flight when Netta D'Souza, the All India Mahila Congress's acting president, questioned her about the rise in fuel prices. "Faced Modi Minister @smritiirani ji... When asked about unbearable rising prices...she blamed vaccines, Raashan & even the poor! Do watch...how she reacted to common people's misery!" D'Souza tweeted alongside a video.
Current status of crude oil prices in the international market
Early Asian trading saw oil prices fall for the second week in a row after world consumers announced plans to release crude oil from strategic stocks. Brent crude was down 38 cents to $102.40 per barrel, while the US crude was down 16 cents to $98.18 a barrel. These benchmarks have been at their most volatile levels since June 2020 for several weeks.
Oil companies need to raise petrol prices by Rs. 10.6-22.3/liter
Notably, fuel prices in India were frozen by state-owned retailers on November 4—ahead of five state Assembly elections—when the crude oil cost had risen by about $30/barrel. Kotak Institutional Equities earlier said that to compensate for losses, oil marketing companies "will need to raise diesel prices by Rs. 13.1-24.9/liter and petrol prices by Rs. 10.6-22.3/liter at an underlying crude price of $100-120 per barrel."
