New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices saw yet another hike on Thursday by 35 paise per litre each making it the second consecutive day which took pump rates at high levels today.
There was no change in rates on October 18 and 19, prior to which prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre for four straight days. After the ending of a three-week-long hiatus in rate revision in the last week of September, this is the 18th increase in petrol price and the 21st time that diesel rates have gone up.
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In Delhi, petrol rates rose to their highest-ever level of Rs 106.54 a litre. While in Mumbai, Rs 112.44 per litre in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
In Mumbai, diesel stood at Rs 103.26 a litre; while in Delhi, it costs Rs 95.27 per litre.
Petrol has already hit the Rs 100 per litre mark mostly all major cities of the country whereas diesel has touched that level in over a dozen states and is treading towards that mark in places from Srinagar to Chennai. Diesel costs Rs 99.14 a litre in Srinagar while it is priced at Rs 99.59 in Chennai.
Ganganagar, a border town in Rajasthan, petrol is priced at Rs 118.59 a litre and diesel for Rs 109.41 per litre.
Prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes. International benchmark Brent crude on Thursday was trading above USD 85 per barrel, USD 11 more than last month. Being a net importer of oil, India prices petrol and diesel at rates equivalent to international prices. The surge in international oil prices ended a three-week hiatus in rate revision on September 28 for petrol and September 24 for diesel.
Since then, the diesel rate has gone up by Rs 6.85 per litre and the petrol price has increased by Rs 5.35 a litre. Prior to that, the petrol price was increased by Rs 11.44 a litre between May 4 and July 17. The diesel rate had gone up by Rs 9.14 per litre during this period.