Business News
Petrol prices at 3-year high; diesel at record high
Several factors like production curbs by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and high demand have led to a surge in crude oil prices.
Petrol and diesel prices kept spiralling even on Wednesday, touching new highs in New Delhi and other metros.
Petrol was sold at ₹72.43 per litre in Delhi, the highest in three years. It cost ₹72.51 on August 2014, according to data from Indian Oil Corp.
In Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, petrol was sold at ₹75.13, ₹80.30 and ₹75.12 per litre respectively, also at over three-year high levels. The previous highs were ₹75.46 (Kolkata, October 2014), ₹80.60 (Mumbai, August 2014) and ₹75.78 per litre (Chennai, August 2014).
Similarly, diesel prices, which have been touching new levels, shot up further on Wednesday across all major cities.
In Delhi, diesel was sold ₹63.38 per litre. In Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, it cost ₹66.04, ₹67.50 and ₹66.84 a litre respectively. Diesel is widely used to transport goods including food products. Experts say this will push up inflation.
Several factors like production curbs by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and high demand have led to a surge in crude oil prices. As on January 24, price of the Brent crude oil hovered around $70 a barrel.
Also, daily price revision in India allows for a rise in domestic fuel prices in accordance with international trends. The earlier system of price determination of petrol had a waiting period of 15 days.
On the other hand, imposition of state taxes and levies generally hikes prices. Currently, the two fuels do not come under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax.
