Petrol nears Rs 80 mark, diesel at new high after 16th price hike in a row

Petrol price on Monday was hiked by 33 paise per litre and diesel by 58 paise to take retail rates to record high as the oil companies increased prices for the 16th day in a row.
In 16 days, the petrol price has been hiked by Rs 8.3 per litre and diesel by Rs 9.46 - a record increase in rates of the fuel in any fortnight since pricing was deregulated in April 2002.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 79.56 per litre from Rs 79.23 while diesel rates were increased to Rs 78.55 a litre from Rs 78.27, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT).
The increase in rates since June 7 is the highest in any fortnight. When petrol and diesel pricing was deregulated in April 2002, oil companies revised rates every fortnight in line with the cost. They switched to daily price revision in May 2017 to allow cost to reflect instantaneously in retail rates.
Despite Rs 50-bn allocation, Bihar still far from the dream of clean GangaThe government on March 14 hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each and then again on May 5 by a record Rs 10 per litre.
According to pricing data, the maximum rates have increased in any fortnight was Rs 4-5 per litre.
The 16th daily increase in rates, since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision, has taken diesel prices to fresh highs. The petrol price too is at a two-year high.
Prior to the current rally, the peak diesel rates had touched was on October 16, 2018, when prices had climbed to Rs 75.69 per litre in Delhi. The highest-ever petrol price was on October 4, 2018, when rates soared to Rs 84 a litre in Delhi.
When rates had peaked in October 2018, the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each. State-owned oil companies were asked to absorb another Rs 1 a litre to help cut retail rates by Rs 2.50 a litre.
Oil companies had quickly recouped the Re 1 and the government in July 2019 raised excise duty by Rs 2 a litre.
Taxes make up for nearly two-third of the retail selling price. As much as Rs 50.69 per litre, or 64 per cent, in petrol price is due to taxes - Rs 32.98 is the central excise duty and Rs 17.71 is local sales tax or VAT.
Over 63 per cent of the retail selling price of diesel is taxes. Out of the total tax incidence of Rs 49.43 per litre, Rs 31.83 is by way of central excise and Rs 17.60 is VAT.
In Mumbai, petrol price has gone up from Rs Rs 86.04 per litre to Rs 86.36 on Monday. Diesel rates have increased to Rs 77.24 a litre from Rs 76.69 a litre, according to the price notification.
The 82-day freeze in rates this year was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.
The government on March 14 hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each and then again on May 5 by a record Rs 10 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13 on diesel. The two hikes gave the government Rs 2 lakh crore in additional tax revenues.
Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of fall in international oil prices to two-decade low.
International oil prices have since rebounded and oil firms are now adjusting retail rates in line with them.

Govt amends law to get power to hike tax on petrol, diesel by Rs 8 per ltr

The government on Monday amended the law to get enabling powers to raise excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 per litre each in future.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved an amendment to the Finance Bill, 2020, to raise the limit up to which the government can raise special excise duty on petrol and diesel to Rs 18 per litre and Rs 12, respectively.

The amendment along with the Finance Bill was passed without a debate in the Lok Sabha.
The government had on March 14 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each to raise an additional Rs 39,000 crore in revenue annually. This duty hike included Rs 2 a litre increase in special additional excise duty and Re 1 in road and infrastructure cess.
This hike took the special additional excise duty to maximum permissible in law -- Rs 10 in case of petrol and Rs 4 in case of diesel.
Now, through an amendment of the Eighth Schedule of the Finance Act, this limit has been increased to Rs 18 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 12 in case of diesel.
This is an enabling provision and no change in excise duty is being done as of now, an official said.
The amendment gives powers to the government to raise the duty by up to Rs 8 per litre in petrol and diesel at any time it wishes.

Petrol prices drop for tenth straight day, fall below Rs 86-mark in Mumbai

Petrol and diesel prices continued the downfall on Saturday with a cut of around 40 paise and 36 paise, respectively.
In Delhi, the petrol price has been reduced by 40 paise and is now being retailed at Rs 80.45 per litre.

With a similar reduction, petrol now costs Rs 85.93 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 82.31 in Kolkata and Rs 83.60 in Chennai.
Diesel rates in top cities are as following:
Delhi - Rs 74.38/litre
Mumbai - Rs 77.96/litre
Kolkata - Rs 76.23/litre
Chennai - Rs 78.64/litre
In the last 10 days, petrol and diesel prices have come down by Rs 2.38 per litre and Rs 1.31 per litre in Delhi.
The rates are off their record high of Rs 84 per litre for petrol and Rs 75.45 a litre for diesel touched on October 4.
On that day, the government decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise by another Re 1 a litre by reducing their margins.
According to a report, the reductions were a result of falling global crude oil prices and the rupee's appreciation against the US dollar and that prices were expected to soften further in the coming days.

Fuel price hike: Petrol price hiked by 12 paise, touches Rs 80.50 in Delhi

Petrol and diesel prices touched a new high as oil marketing companies announced yet another hike on Sunday. With this hike, petrol price is up by 12 paise in Delhi and Mumbai.
Petrol now costs Rs 80.50 per litre in Delhi and Rs 87.89 per litre in Mumbai.

Diesel prices also saw a similar increase. The key transportation fuel is now being sold at Rs 72.61 and Rs 77.09 in Delhi and Mumbai respectively. The price is around 10 paise higher than those on Saturday.
Petrol price crossed the Rs 80 mark in Delhi for the first time ever on Saturday.
The continued increase in diesel and petrol costs is likely to make products and services such as transport, food, medical equipment and imported goods more expensive.
With fuel being the main input cost for the transport sector, rise in the cost of operations is a given. The sector is unsure on the extent of being able to pass this on through rentals or to absorb it with higher volumes.
Opposition parties have called for a nation-wide 'Bharat Bandh' on Monday (September 10) to protest against the spiralling fuel prices.
ALSO READ: Spike in fuel prices likely to make commodities, services costlier
The spike in prices has renewed calls for cut in excise duty but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has remained non-committal, saying international oil prices are volatile and have not shown any linear movement.

Petrol breaches 80-mark for the first time in Delhi; diesel at Rs 72.51/ltr

Continuing the upward run, petrol and diesel prices touched a new high as oil marketing companies announced a hike on Saturday.
In Delhi, petrol went past the Rs 80-mark for the first time ever as the prices were hiked by 39 paise. Petrol in the Capital reached an unprecedented Rs 80.38 per litre on Saturdaym while the new price for diesel will be Rs 72.51 after an even bigger hike of 44 paise.
In Mumbai, petrol prices rose by 38 paise to be sold at Rs 87.77 per litre and diesel prices were hiked by 47 paise to Rs 76.98.
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Except for a halt on Wednesday, petrol and diesel rates have gone up every day since 26 August. Overall, petrol and diesel prices have gone up by Rs 2.71 and Rs 3.19 respectively in Delhi, since then.
For the past couple of weeks, opposition parties have been targetting the Modi government over falling value of the rupee and a continuous rise in the fuel prices.
The Congress has accused the government of "fuel loot" that it said had raised Rs 11 trillion ($152 billion) for the exchequer since Modi came to power in 2014.
"The mismanagement of the economy has led to high fuel prices," senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said. "When fuel prices were rising during (the previous government), taxes were reduced to take the burden off people."
Petrol
City Rate today (Rs): Rate on Friday (Rs): Hike (paise)
Delhi 80.38 79.99 39
Mumbai 87.77 87.39 38

Diesel
City Rate today (Rs): Rate on Friday (Rs): Hike (paise)
Delhi 72.51 72.07 44
Mumbai 76.98 76.51 47

Petrol, Diesel prices slashed again: Check revised rates in top cities

State-run oil marketing firms significantly lowered petrol and diesel prices for the eleventh consecutive day on Saturday.
As per prices announced by Indian Oil Corp (IOC), petrol prices are down by around 40 paise in the four metro cities, while diesel prices fell around 30 paise.

In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 77.02 a litre and diesel costs Rs 68.28 per litre. On Friday, petrol and diesel were priced at Rs 77.42 and 68.58 a litre, respectively, in Delhi.
Similarly, in Mumbai, petrol prices were down 40 paise to Rs 84.84. In Chennai and Kolkata, petrol fell by 42 paise and 39 paise respectively. The revised petrol price was Rs 79.68 in Kolkata and 79.95 in Chennai.
Diesel prices were down by 30 paise in Delhi and Mumbai. In Kolkata and Chennai, its price was down by 32 paise.
After the revision, diesel prices in major cities are - Rs 68.28 in Delhi, Rs 70.83 in Kolkata, Rs 72.70 in Mumbai and Rs 72.08 in Chennai.
After 16 consecutive days of hikes post the Karnataka elections, petrol prices had touched the peak of Rs 78.43 per litre in Delhi and Rs 86.24 per litre in Mumbai on May 29.
ALSO READ: Petrol, diesel to be under GST soon, says Dharmendra Pradhan
Since then, petrol prices have seen a downward revision of Rs 1.41 in Delhi to be priced at Rs 77.02 on Saturday.
Global crude oil price fell on Friday over concerns about surging US output and falling demand in China.
Brent crude futures settled down 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, at $76.46 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended 21 cents lower at $65.74 a barrel. For the week, Brent fell 0.5 per cent, while US crude slipped 0.3 per cent.

Petrol, diesel prices cut again: Here are the new rates for Delhi, Mumbai

Prices for petrol and diesel were cut by nine paise on Saturday. Amid mounting public frustration, rates have been cut for the fourth consecutive day today.
In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 78.20 a litre, and diesel costs Rs 69.11 per litre.
On Friday, price for petrol was Rs 78.29 per litre, while diesel price was Rs 69.20 a litre in the national capital.
The revised petrol prices in other metro cities are - Rs 80.84 in Kolkata, Rs 86.01 in Mumbai and Rs 81.19 in Chennai.
ALSO READ: End to relentless petrol, diesel price rise brings no joy as cuts minuscule
Meanwhile, the revised diesel prices in other metro cities are - Rs 71.66 in Kolkata, Rs 73.58 in Mumbai and 72.97 in Chennai.

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.

India to take a 'long-term' view on fuel pricing: Ravi Shankar Prasad

With petrol and diesel prices being hiked for the 10th day in a row, the government on Wednesday said it is working on a long-term solution to address the volatility and frequent revisions in rates.
The BJP-led government had in June last year junked a 15-year old practice of revising rates every fortnight and introduced daily revisions which worked well except periods immediately preceding an election.

There was a 19-day freeze in revising rates before Karnataka went to polls, and since the time the hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by Rs 2.54 a litre in case of petrol and Rs 2.41 in diesel.
The 10-day relentless price increases built pressure on the government for cutting excise duty to give immediate relief to consumers but after a meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad offered little insight if a reduction in tax was coming.
"(The) issue of frequent hike in fuel price is a matter of debate and concern. The government is involved in this whole process, including the concern (about rise in prices) and also the uncertainty," he told reporters here.
With geopolitical situation leading to an uncertainty over the direction of international oil prices, "a new sense of urgency has developed", he said.
"The government is keen that instead of having an ad hoc measure, it may be desirable to have a long-term view which addresses not only the volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs. That process is underway," he said.
The minister refused to elaborate either on the measures being considered or if a duty reduction was on cards.
On the question of excise duty, he said proceeds from such taxes are used for country's development including building of highways, digital infrastructure, electricity to villages, hospitals and education.
"So tax on fuel is linked with developmental issues. We understand that there is a compelling need for a long-term solution, structured solution (to deal with the present situation)," he said.
Asked about former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's criticism of the BJP government raising excise duty to take away gains arising from falling international prices, Prasad said he generally does not comment on the Congress leader's tweets "because ever since his party went out of power, he has become active on twitter".
"But I want to tell my media friends that they should tweet to Chidambaram and ask if his mathematics was so strong then how did his government go out of power," he asked.
Chidambaram had in a series of tweets said that the fall in international oil prices between 2014 and early 2016 helped the government save Rs 15 per litre but the government put an additional Rs 10 on every litre of fuel.
"Central government saves Rs 15 on every litre of petrol due to fall in crude oil prices. Central government puts additional tax of Rs 10 on every litre of petrol," he tweeted.
"Bonanza to central government is Rs 25 on every litre of petrol. This money rightfully belongs to the average consumer."
"It is possible to cut up to Rs 25 per litre, but the government will not. They will cheat the people by cutting price by Rs 1 or 2 per litre of petrol," he said in another tweet.
The government had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
Since May 14 when the state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus on revising fuel prices, petrol and diesel rates have been revised everyday, leading them to record highs. Petrol costs Rs 76.17 per litre in Delhi while diesel sells for Rs 68.34.
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) were in April 2002 given freedom to revise rates of petrol and diesel on 1st and 16th of every month based on average rate of benchmark international petroleum product prices and rupee-US dollar rates in the preceding fortnight.
The revisions continued till just before the general elections in 2004 when oil companies went slow and after a Congress-led UPA came to power the entire process was reviewed as the international oil prices started moving up. Rates were revised on fortnightly basis but not all of the desired hike was passed on to the consumers and that increase not passed on converted into subsidy.
The UPA government finally freed petrol price in June 2010 and the diesel rates were decontrolled by the current BJP government in November 2014.
Prasad said the government had allowed complete freedom on pricing and on many occasions prices went down considerably.
There are indications that a cut in excise duty combined with states being asked to reduce VAT is on the cards.
The central government levies Rs 19.48 excise duty on a litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up.

Petrol gets high: Prices now above Rs 84/litre in Mumbai, Rs 76 in Delhi

Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers. Petrol price today increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi —the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers. Petrol price today increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi —the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.
Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Prices in Delhi are the cheapest in all metros and most state capitals.
With this increase, petrol has touched an all-time-high, breaching the previous high of Rs 76.06 touched in Delhi on September 14, 2013. Diesel rates are also at the all-time high level.
This is the seventh straight day of price increase since oil PSUs on May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. In all, petrol price has been raised by Rs 1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in last one week.
In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes have led a price of Rs 84.07 per litre. Petrol has breached Rs 80 mark in Bhopal (Rs 81.83 a litre), Patna (Rs 81.73), Hyderabad (Rs 80.76) and Srinagar (Rs 80.35), according to the price notification.
Petrol in Kolkatta costs Rs 78.91 per litre while it is priced at Rs 79.13 in Chennai.
On Friday, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg refused to say if the government will cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers.
The government is watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting $80 a barrel -- the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all he said without elaborating.
Oil PSUs are estimated to have lost about Rs 5 billion (Rs 500 crore) on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar during the nearly three-week hiatus
Here are the top developments on petrol and diesel prices touching an all-time high in India:
1. Petrol, diesel touch all-time highs as oil companies hike rates: Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.
2. Costliest and cheapest petrol: In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes have led a price of Rs 84.07 per litre. The cheapest petrol is available in Panjim where a litre comes for Rs 70.26.
3.
Costliest and cheapest diesel: Diesel is the costliest in Hyderabad where it is priced at Rs 73.45 a litre due to high local taxes. It is priced at Rs 73.34 in Trivandrum. Other cities where diesel rates have crossed Rs 70 mark are Raipur (Rs 72.96 a litre), Gandhinagar (Rs 72.63), Bhubaneswar (Rs 72.43), Patna (Rs 72.24), Jaipur (Rs 71.97), Ranchi (Rs 71.35), Bhopal (Rs 71.12) and Srinagar (Rs 70.96)
A litre of diesel costs Rs 71.94 in Mumbai, Rs 70.12 in Kolkatta and Rs 71.32 in Chennai, the notification said.
Diesel is the cheapest in Port Blair where it is priced at Rs 63.35.
3. Oil prices and Karnataka polls: No sooner had Karnataka polled to elect a new state government, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) on Monday ended a hiatus in revising petrol and diesel prices that began on April 25 and reverted to the 11-month old practices of changing rates on a daily basis.
The BJP-led government had raised excise duty nine times -- totalling Rs 11.77 per litre on petrol and Rs 13.47 on diesel -- between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
4. Global oil prices fall, Brent notches sixth week of gains: Global oil prices fell on Friday, but Brent crude marked its sixth straight week of gains, boosted by plummeting Venezuelan production, strong global demand and looming US sanctions on Iran.
Brent crude futures fell 79 cents, or 1 per cent, to settle at $78.51 a barrel. The global benchmark on Thursday broke through $80 a barrel for the first time since November 2014, and investors anticipate more gains due to supply concerns, at least in the short term.
On Friday, traders were looking ahead to Venezuela's election on Sunday, which could then trigger additional US sanctions if President Nicolas Maduro is re-elected for a six-year term, though the opposition party has largely boycotted the race and two of his most popular opponents have been banned from running.
5. Saudi Energy Minister called Dharmendra Pradhan: OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it would make sure the world is adequately supplied with oil just as major consumer India expressed frustration with rising prices.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih called India's Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to assure him that supporting global economic growth was "one of the kingdom's key goals", the Saudi Energy Ministry said.
Crude prices have received broad support from voluntary supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The International Energy Agency said oil inventories in the developed world had already dipped below the five-year average, a measure targeted by OPEC and its allies.
Beyond OPEC's cuts, strong demand, falling output from Venezuela and a US announcement this month that it would renew sanctions against OPEC member Iran have helped push up Brent by 20 percent since the start of the year.
US investment bank Jefferies said sanctions against Iran could remove more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from the market.
Barclays said output from Venezuela could fall below 1 million bpd. The country, also an OPEC member, produced around 1.5 million bpd in April.
In Nigeria, Shell declared force majeure on Thursday on loadings of Bonny Light crude. Exports of the grade were expected to run at nearly 200,000 bpd in June. Nigeria's Forcados stream was also experiencing delays due to a pipeline leak.

Rs 4 a litre hike in petrol, diesel prices in offing, say brokerage firms

A Rs 4 per litre increase in petrol and diesel prices is in the offing if state-owned fuel retailers are to return to pre-Karnataka poll hiatus margin levels, brokerage firms said.
No sooner had Karnataka polled to elect a new state government, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) on Monday ended a 19-day hiatus in revising petrol and diesel prices and reverted to the practices of changing rates on a daily basis.

Since then petrol price has risen by 69 paisa a litre, including a 22 paisa hike effected today that took rate in Delhi to Rs 75.32, the highest in almost five years.
Diesel prices have gone up by 86 paisa a litre, including 22 paisa increase today that took the rate to their highest ever of Rs 66.79 a litre in Delhi.
"Our computation suggests that downstream oil marketing companies (OMCs) are required to increase retail prices of diesel by a steep Rs 3.5-4 a litre and gasoline (petrol) by Rs 4-4.55 per litre in the coming weeks to earn normative gross marketing margins of Rs 2.7/litre," Kotak Institutional Equities said in a report.
The increase is based on assumption that global price of diesel and petrol and Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate remain stable hereon.
"We note that the lack of price hikes over the past three weeks, before Karnataka elections amid a sharp increase in global crude/product prices, has resulted in sharp moderation in gross marketing margins to around Rs 0.5-0.7 a liter," it said.
Last week, ICICI Securities had said that auto fuel net marketing margins were weak at Rs 0.31 a litre due to no price hike after April 24.
OMCs returned to daily price revision from May 14. They are estimated to have lost about Rs 500 crore on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar.
The benchmark international rate for petrol, used for revising rate on April 24, had gone up from $78.84 per barrel to $82.98 on May 14. It has further risen to $83.30, indicating more daily hikes would be needed to level retail price with cost.
Similarly, benchmark international diesel rates during this period have climbed from $84.68 per barrel to $88.93. Also, the rupee has weakened to Rs 67.06 per US dollar from Rs 66.62, making imports costlier.