By Administrator_India
Petrol and diesel prices across the country soared to fresh all-time high levels on October 9 as rates were hiked for the fourth consecutive day, in line with the spurt in international oil prices.
Petrol price was increased by 30 paise per litre and diesel by 35 paise a litre, according to a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers.
The price of petrol rose to its highest-ever levels – to Rs 103.54 in Delhi and to Rs 109.54 per litre in Mumbai.
Diesel rates too touched a record high of Rs 92.12 in Delhi and inched closer to the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Mumbai. It currently costs Rs 99.92 a litre in Maharashtra’s capital.
In Kolkata, petrol prices soared to Rs 104.23 per litre and diesel prices to Rs 95.23 per litre on the day, while in Chennai, the rates increased to Rs 101.01 and Rs 96.60, respectively.
Petrol and diesel prices differ across states, depending on the incidence of local taxes.
The relentless increase in prices pushed rates to a new record high. Petrol crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Lucknow and Gandhinagar – the last of the handful of state capitals that had rates less than that.
Petrol prices, which is dictated by the incidence of local taxes and freight, had already crossed the Rs 100 mark in several places in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Diesel is already above the Rs 100 mark in several cities in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
State-owned fuel retailers have in the past few days resorted to modest increases to align domestic rates with cost. But with international benchmark Brent crude soaring to $81 per barrel after the decision by the OPEC+ not to increase output more than 0.4 million barrels per day, fuel rates are being increased by a larger proportion.