Petrol, diesel prices increased again for the second day: Details here

For the second day in a row, the Centre hiked the petrol and diesel prices.  

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the government increased the LPG price by Rs 50 per cylinder. Petrol and diesel prices were also hiked by 80 paise a litre

Oil Marketing Companies(OMCs) started the increase in petroleum products after a gap of more than four months. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 97.01 per litre as against Rs 96.21 previously, while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 88.27 per litre to Rs 86.67, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. In Mumbai, petrol will cost Rs 111.67 per liter, and diesel Rs 95.85 per liter.

On November 3 last year the Centre had cut excise duty by Rs 5 per litre on petrol and Rs 10 per litre on diesel to bring down the retail prices across the country.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri had said that nine states had not reduced VAT on petrol and diesel after the Centre’s move to reduce excise duty on the petroleum products.

International oil prices started rising again this year and jumped to a 14-year high of $140 per barrel earlier this month. Brent was trading at USD 118.59 per barrel on Tuesday.

To compound things, the Indian rupee tumbled against the US dollar, making imports costlier. India relies on overseas purchases to meet about 85 percent of its oil requirement, making it one of the most vulnerable in Asia to higher oil prices.