Petrol price hiked by Rs 2.21 a litre, diesel by Rs 1.79

New Delhi: With the global oil prices going over $50 a barrel earlier this week, state-run Indian Oil Corp on Friday hiked the prices of transport fuels -- of petrol by Rs 2.21 a litre, and of diesel by Rs 1.79 at Delhi, with corresponding increase in other states and effective midnight. "The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and the INR-USD exchange rate warrant increase in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision," IOC said in a release here late on Friday. Petrol per litre from Saturday will cost Rs 68.94 in Delhi, Rs 71.50 in Kolkata, Rs 75.27 in Mumbai and Rs 68.41 in Chennai. Similarly, diesel will cost Rs 56.68 in Delhi, Rs 58.92 in Kolkata, Rs 62.40 in Mumbai and Rs 58.29 in Chennai. Amid the fluctuation in global prices, rates were last revised on December 1, when petrol price was hiked by 13 paise a litre, while diesel rates were cut by 12 paise, both in Delhi, with corresponding changes in other states. With oil producers outside the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Russia, agreeing to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week, the Indian basket of crude oils gained more than $3 a barrel over the weekend even as global prices surged to an 18-month high. This came in the wake of the 13-nation OPEC cartel's November 30 decision to cut output by 1.2 million bpd for six months effective January 1. It is the first time since 2001 that OPEC and some of its rivals reached a deal to jointly reduce output in order to tackle the global oil glut. The Indian basket, comprising 73 percent sour-grade Dubai and Oman crudes, and the balance in sweet-grade Brent, closed trade on Thursday at $52.04 for a barrel of 159 litres. .