Fuel prices see 8th rise in 9 days, diesel crosses ₹100-mark in Mumbai

Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked again by 80 paise a litre each on Wednesday, taking the total rise in petrol rates to ₹5.60 per litre in the last nine days. Oil marketing companies have increased fuel prices for the eighth time in nine days in the backdrop of a spike in the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, which hit a 14-year high of nearly $140 a barrel this month amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis. On Wednesday, the Brent oil futures were trading around $108 a barrel.

With the revision in fuel prices, petrol in Delhi will now cost ₹101.01 per litre as against ₹100.21 on Tuesday, while diesel rates climbed from ₹91.47 per litre to ₹92.27, as per the latest price notified by state-run oil retailers on Wednesday.

In Mumbai, diesel prices breached ₹100-mark to ₹100.10 per litre, while petrol costs rose to ₹115.88. In Kolkata, petrol and diesel will now cost ₹110.52 and ₹95.42 per litre, respectively. Meanwhile, in Chennai, petrol will be sold at ₹106.69 per litre and diesel at ₹96.76 a litre.

Fuel rates vary from state to state based on the incidence of local taxation.

On Tuesday, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is responsible for the record hike in fuel prices as it has disrupted global supply chains. India relies heavily on oil imports to meet about 85% of its domestic requirements, making it vulnerable to a rise in global crude prices.

International oil prices had surged sharply in the last one month after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The Brent crude oil per barrel jumped nearly $140 per barrel as compared to $82 in early November 2021 after the U.S. and its Western allies imposed a flurry of sanctions on Moscow, including a ban on Russian oil.

In the backdrop of rising crude prices, the state-owned oil retailers raised fuel prices after a long gap of a four-and-half-month on March 22, following the conclusion of assembly elections in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, and Uttarakhand.

According to a report by ICICI Securities, petrol and diesel prices need a massive price hike of up to ₹15.1 per litre to bridge the gap created by soaring international oil prices.