Diesel Gets Costlier By Rs 7 in 12 Days, Petrol By Rs 6.5. Check Here For Latest Rates In Top Cities

The current hike comes at a time when globally crude prices have lowered down to around $40 a barrel even as the demand for fuel has picked up to return to pre-Covid levels.

Representational Picture (AFP)

New Delhi:  Even as the Opposition party raised concerns over the successive rise in auto fuels, the oil and marketing companies continued with the price hike with the diesel prices being increased by ₹7.04 a litre while that of petrol by ₹6.55 a litre in  span of 12 days. Petrol price went up by 53 paise in Delhi on Thursday and diesel witnessed a steeper hike by 64 paise.  According to the financial news daily Mint, the domestic petrol prices has touched a 19-month high. With the diesel prices hitting a record, the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) said the rampant hike in fuel prices along with the extortion at state border check-posts has severely impacted truckers and if the government fails to mitigate the price hike it may disrupt the transport services as well. The current hike comes at a time when globally crude prices have lowered down to around $40 a barrel even as the demand for fuel has picked up to return to pre-Covid levels. After declining more than 8 per cent last week, Brent crude futures fell 1.5 per cent to $40.10 a barrel in the morning on Thursday. Even as the prices dipped, it is likely to remain in the $35 to $40 band as the trading in June, with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a grouping called OPEC+,  cutting supply and US shale producers cutting output, along with the uptick in fuel demand. The hike in domestic auto fuel rates is due to the excise duty hike of ₹10 per litre on petrol and ₹13 per litre on diesel in May.  It is also as a result of several state governments increasing VAT or cess on fuel but the impact is now being passed on to customers. Latest petrol, diesel prices in major cities: New Delhi: Petrol ₹77.81 Diesel ₹76.43 Gurgaon: Petrol ₹76.24. Diesel ₹69.08 Mumbai: Petrol ₹84.66. Diesel ₹74.93 Chennai: Petrol ₹81.32. Diesel ₹74.23 Hyderabad: Petrol ₹80.77. Diesel ₹74.70 Bengaluru: Petrol ₹80.33. Diesel ₹72.68  ALSO WATCH| Covid-19: Total 3.66 lakh cases in country, over 12,000 dead