NL Desk
Petrol and diesel prices were again pushed upward by 25-26 paise per litre on Saturday for the second consecutive day.
This took the petrol price in J&K at 85.79 paise and Diesel at Rs. 76.60 against Delhi to Rs 85.70 per litre and Rs 92.28 in Mumbai. Diesel rate climbed to Rs 75.88 a litre in the national capital – its highest ever. In Mumbai, diesel price too increased to an all-time high of Rs 82.66, the price data showed.
Similarly, in Chennai and Kolkata, petrol is now priced at Rs 88.29 and Rs 87.11 a litre respectively.
Fuel prices are now at a record high in the country, prompting cries for a cut in excise duty to ease the burden on the consumers.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan earlier this week blamed Saudi oil output cut for the surge in oil prices but remained non-committal on tax cuts.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has pledged additional voluntary output cuts of 1 million barrels per day in February and March, which has led to price climbing to the most since the pandemic broke out.
State-owned fuel retailers — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — had on January 6 resumed daily price revision after nearly a month-long hiatus.
Since then, rates have gone up by Rs 1.74 a litre on petrol and Rs 1.76 in case of diesel.
This comes after international oil prices firmed up on hopes of demand returning from the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in different countries, including India.
Petrol and diesel prices are revised on a daily basis in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates. They vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes.
