Petrol, diesel price hiked 6th time in 7 days; petrol now costlier by Rs 4, diesel by Rs 4.10

After this fresh round of hike, there is an overall increase of Rs 4-4.10 per litre on petrol and diesel.  

The price of petrol and diesel in India was hiked for the sixth time in seven days on Monday (March 28) as both increased by 30 paise per litre, and 35 paise per litre, respectively. After this fresh round of hike, there is an overall increase of Rs 4-4.10 per litre on petrol and diesel.

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 99.41 per litre as against Rs 99.11 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 90.42 per litre to Rs 90.77, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. In Mumbai, the petrol and diesel prices per litre are Rs 114.19 and Rs 98.50, up by 31 paise and 37 paise, respectively.

In Chennai, petrol is available at Rs 108.18 per litre and diesel for Rs 95.33 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 108.85 per litre and diesel Rs 93.92 per litre.

Until last Tuesday, fuel prices in India had remained unchanged since November 2021, despite global crude oil prices breaching the three-figure mark and touching multi-year highs. However, many had been anticipating a rise in prices after hostilities between Russia and Ukraine increased global prices.

In India, petrol and diesel prices depend on various factors such as demand for fuel, valuation of INR against USD, consumption ratio of refineries and more. The prices of petrol and diesel vary from state to state, depending on the incidence of local taxes like value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.

India is 85 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs.

Supply crunch after sanctions on Russia, dwindling oil stockpiles, and worries about a surge of Covid-19 in China hitting demand, drove the oil rally over the last four weeks. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) have now started to increase retail fuel prices after four months as international crude oil prices have soared.