Petrol prices raised for fourth straight day
What's the story
Petrol price on Friday scaled to Rs. 102 per liter in some parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as rates were raised for the fourth straight day after the end of two-week-long hiatus during assembly elections. On Friday, petrol price was hiked by 29 paise per liter and diesel by 31 paise a liter, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers.
Prices across country
Petrol costs Rs. 102.15 a liter in Sri Ganganagar
The price of petrol in Delhi hiked to Rs. 91.27 per liter and that of diesel to Rs. 81.73. In the Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, petrol touched Rs. 102.15 a liter. In Anuppur of Madhya Pradesh, petrol now costs Rs. 101.86 while it is priced at Rs. 99.95 a liter in Parbhani, Maharashtra. The rate had previously crossed Rs. 100-mark in mid-February.
Price hike
Price hike canceled out the recent reduction in prices
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh. In four days, petrol price has increased by 88 paise per liter and diesel by Re. 1, neutralizing the reduction that came between March 24 and April 15.
Information
Fuel prices had come down earlier this year
After raising petrol price by Rs. 21.58 per liter and diesel by Rs. 19.18 in March last year, state-owned fuel retailers, IOC, BPCL, and HPCL, had reduced petrol price by 67 paise a liter and diesel by 74 paise between March 24 and April 15.
Global markets
Crude oil price hovering near the $70 per barrel mark
Oil companies had hit a pause button on rate revision after cutting prices marginally on April 15. This coincided with electioneering hitting a peak to elect governments in five states. No sooner had voting ended, oil companies indicated an impending increase in retail prices in view of firming trends in international oil markets. Crude oil price is hovering near the $70 per barrel mark.
Taxes
Centre levies Rs. 32.90 of excise duty on petrol
Central and state taxes make up for 60 percent of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54 percent of diesel. The union government levies Rs. 32.90 per liter of excise duty on petrol and Rs. 31.80 on diesel. In Mumbai, the petrol price was hiked to Rs. 97.61 a liter on Friday from Rs. 97.34, while diesel rates increased to Rs. 88.82.