INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Petrol prices have been raised by Rs 3.59-3.83 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.09-3.47 per litre in 15 days
Petrol and diesel prices continued their upward movement on Monday
While petrol prices were hiked by 15 paise per litre in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, diesel prices were raised by 11-12 paise per
Monday's increase in petrol and diesel prices marked a fifteen straight day of hikes, which followed a 19-day hiatus ahead of Karnataka
Higher global crude oil prices, coupled with the bout of weakness in the rupee, are being attributed for the hike in domestic fuel prices.1
With effect from 6 am on Monday, May 28, petrol prices were at Rs 78.27 per litre in Delhi, Rs 80.91 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 86.08 per
litre in Mumbai and Rs 81.26 per litre in Chennai, according to Indian Oil Corporation
Diesel prices were at Rs 69.17 per litre, Rs 71.72 per litre, Rs 73.64 per litre and Rs 73.03 per litre respectively.2
Since May 13, petrol prices have been increased in the range of Rs 3.59-3.83 per litre across Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, while
diesel prices were increased by Rs 3.09-3.47 per litre, according to data from Indian Oil Corporation.3
The government had last week hinted at steps to curb petrol and diesel prices
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday advocated bringing fuel under the GST to curb the price hike
He, however, said the ultimate decision regarding this remained with the Petroleum Ministry
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said the previous day that the government was looking at both short-term and long-term solutions to
Currently, oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation revise petrol
and diesel prices on a daily basis
The revised prices are applied at the fuel stations with effect from 6 am every day
Petrol and diesel prices - both deregulated at present - are broadly determined by global crude oil and rupee-dollar forex rates.5
International crude oil prices dropped as much as 2.6 per cent to $74.49 per barrel on Monday, their lowest level in about three weeks
Brent crude oil prices had earlier this month hit $80 per barrel - in a first since late 2014 - on looming US sanctions on Iran
Meanwhile, the rupee stayed around 67-68 per dollar in past two weeks
Apart from global oil prices, weakness in the rupee against the dollar pushes up domestic fuel prices as India meets more than 80 per cent
of its fuel requirements through imports, determined by the dollar.(With agency inputs)
