Petrol inches close to Rs 81 a litre in Delhi after 5th straight price hike

Petrol Price - Adding to the woes of the common man, petrol and diesel prices were again raised on Monday, a fifth straight day of price hike in as many days by oil marketing companies. In Delhi, petrol continued its upward march in the previously uncharted territory of above the Rs 80 mark -- the price was raised by 23 paise a litre on Monday to Rs 80.73. The price of petrol in Delhi crossed the Rs 80 mark for the first time on Saturday, September 8.

Similarly, petrol prices in Mumbai were raised by 22 paise to Rs 88.12 a litre.

Another key transport fuel, diesel, also witnessed a similar hike of 22 paise in Delhi and 23 paise in Mumbai. Diesel now costs Rs 72.83 a litre and Rs 77.32 in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.

Opposition parties like the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), led by the Congress party, have called for a 'Bharat Bandh' to protest the rising fuel prices in the country. Left parties have announced a separate shutdown of their own.

Delhi: Petrol crosses Rs 77 mark on rising global rates; diesel at Rs 68.50

Petrol prices have crossed the Rs 77 a litre mark for the first time in two months due to firming international rates.

Petrol price in Delhi was on Tuesday hiked by 9 paisa a litre to Rs 77.06 while diesel rates went up by 6 paisa to Rs 68.50 per litre, according to daily price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.

Fuel prices in Delhi are the cheapest in all metros and most state capitals due to lower sales tax or VAT.

Retail selling prices have been firming up since July 30 as international rates inched up. Rates have risen by Rs 0.90 a litre in case of petrol in nine days while diesel prices have risen by Rs 0.88 per litre.

Petrol price had touched an all-time high of Rs 78.43 a litre on May 29 and had since receded. On that day, the diesel price had touched an all-time high of Rs 69.30.

End to relentless petrol, diesel price rise brings no joy as cuts minuscule

High fuel prices have burnt a hole in the common man's pockets. With mounting frustration, rates have been cut for the third consecutive day today. However, this is likely to be cold comfort for most given that the reduction in prices has been minuscule. Prices for petrol and diesel fell by 6 paise and 5 paise per litre, respectively, on Friday. After a one paisa cut in fuel prices, petrol prices across the four metros were cut on Thursday by seven paise a litre and diesel prices fell by five paise.

Petrol now costs Rs 78.29 per litre in Delhi, while the price of diesel has been revised to Rs 69.20 a litre. The revised Petrol prices in other metro cities are -- Rs 80.92 in Kolkata, Rs 86.10 in Mumbai, and Rs 81.28 in Chennai. The revised diesel prices are Rs 71.75 in Kolkata, Rs 73.67 in Mumbai, and 73.06 in Chennai.

How does this measure up against the previous hike in petrol prices? These cuts contrast against the nearly Rs 4 per litre rise in prices during May 14-29, with the daily hike in prices varying around 15-30 paise a litre. Similarly, diesel prices in all the four metros also were at record levels during the period.

A direct comparison of prices brings home the point. In the national capital on Thursday, petrol was sold at Rs 78.35 per litre, down from Rs 78.42 on Wednesday. Compared to Friday's prices, that is just a 13 paise difference in the favour of the consumer.

Modi has an oil price headache and Saudi Arabia may just make it worse

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an oil problem. And it’s set to worsen with Saudi Arabia rooting for the commodity to push through the $80 barrier.

Modi’s government made the most of cheap oil by substituting any fall in prices with taxes that kept retail fuel rates unchanged for consumers and boosted the federal revenue. Now, pressure is mounting to forego some of that windfall as pump prices of gasoline and diesel hit records, likely marring the ruling party’s prospects at the national ballot in 2019.

“There is a strong case for the central government to take another excise duty cut, and ask state governments to reduce value added tax,” Anil Sharma and Ravi Adukia, analysts at Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India Pvt. wrote in a note Tuesday.

Fuel prices have started to pinch as Brent, the benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, hit $80 a barrel last week. It’s still short of its all-time high of $147.50. But cutting local taxes, which account for more than half of the retail gasoline and diesel prices, would stretch government finances at a time when the subsidy burden on kerosene and cooking gas is climbing.

Petrol prices at all time high; high diesel prices hurt garment industry

The President of Garment Manufacturers and Wholesale Association of Telangana, Pavan Bansal, on Monday said that the recent rise in diesel prices was affecting the garment industries all over the country. Bansal said, "Diesel rates have increased more than Rs. 10 in the last four years. This will impact the garment industry negatively raising the product of the price of the materials. It will lead to huge losses for the traders."

He added that diesel was an important commodity for the industries as it was more affordable than petrol prices.

Highlighting the importance of the fuel, Bansal further said, "Diesel is used in several industries on a daily basis, whether it is garment or manufacturing industry. Our materials come from all over India. We send garment materials to neighbouring states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. We also sell the materials in local areas."

He also criticised the increase of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on raw products as it was becoming an additional burden on the traders.