Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged on July 1 across the country for the second straight day. The auto fuel prices had touched a new all-time high on Tuesday, with petrol and diesel becoming costly by 35 paise and 28 paise respectively. Also, the overall market for crude oil is expected to increase in the coming days.
Today, a litre of petrol in the national capital is being retailed at Rs 98.81 and diesel at Rs 89.18, according to Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer.
In Mumbai, a litre of petrol and diesel will cost Rs 104.90 and Rs 96.72. Currently, fuel prices are highest in Mumbai among all metro cities.
After Tuesday’s rise, it added up to Rs 8.41 for petrol and Rs 8.45 for diesel. It was the 32nd price hike since May 4, when the state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision in May. It was also the 16th hike of June. The auto fuel prices witnessed a significant uptick in June continuing the rising trend.
Petrol prices have already crossed the Rs 100-mark in eleven states and union territories – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Manipur, Ladakh and some cities of Bihar and Punjab. Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan has the costliest petrol and diesel in the country with Rs 110.04 per litre and Rs 102.42 a litre. Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Banswara, Ratnagiri, Parbhani and Aurangabad are also few cities selling auto fuel above Rs 100 mark.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Central and state taxes make up for 60% of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54% of diesel. The union government levies Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh.