Petrol and diesel prices were increased again on June 18 across the country after a day’s pause. The auto fuel prices touched a new all-time high on Wednesday, with petrol and diesel becoming costly by 27 paise and 28 paise per litre respectively.
After today’s revision, a litre of petrol and diesel in the national capital will cost Rs 96.93 and Rs 87.69 respectively, according to Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer.
In Mumbai, a litre of petrol and diesel will cost Rs 103.08 and Rs 95.14. Currently, fuel prices are highest in Mumbai among all metro cities.
After today’s rise, it added up to Rs 6.24 for petrol and Rs 6.64 for diesel. This is the 27th price hike since May 4, when the state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision in May. Petrol price has increased by Rs 3.83 in May, while diesel price has gone up by Rs 4.43 per litre.
Petrol prices have already crossed the Rs 100-mark in six states and union territories – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Ladakh. Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan has the costliest petrol and diesel in the country with Rs 108.07 per litre and Rs 100.82 a litre. Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Banswara, Ratnagiri, Parbhani and Aurangabad are also few cities selling auto fuel above Rs 100 mark.
May saw a nine-month low in the demand for fuel, while fuel prices are on the rise. According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry, despite the low base of May 2020, the demand fell 1.5% to 15.1 million tonnes. It was down 11.3% from the previous month.
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.