New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across the country for the third successive day on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. Petrol had touched fresh record highs on July 17, when it rose by 30 paise per litre in the national capital, while diesel prices were kept unchanged.
According to reports, the price of petrol in Delhi stands at Rs 101.84 per litre while that of diesel is at Rs 89.87. In Mumbai, petrol currently costs Rs 107.83, while diesel is retailing at Rs 97.45, data available on Indian Oil Corporation’s website showed.
So far in July, petrol prices have been hiked nine times while diesel rates have witnessed a rise on five occasions and a cut on one occasion. During the month of June, both the auto fuel prices were hiked on 16 occasions, which followed the 16 hikes in the month of May after the oil marketing companies (OMCs) resumed their price revisions ending an 18-day hiatus that coincided with the assembly elections in key states. During this period, petrol price has increased by Rs 11.44 per litre and diesel has climbed by Rs 9.14 in New Delhi.
Following the hikes since May 4, the price of petrol has crossed the Rs 100-per-litre mark across many places in at least 19 states and union territories including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Ladakh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Sikkim, Puducherry, Delhi and West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
In India, the fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the local taxation (VAT) and freight charges. Apart from this, the central government charges an excise duty on auto fuels.
The OMCs revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.
Globally, crude oil prices stabilised on Tuesday after slumping around 7 per cent in the previous session amid a broader market retreat led by concerns about a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, which came just as producers inked a new supply deal, Reuters reported earlier in the day.
Brent crude gained 38 cents (0.6 per cent) to $69.00 a barrel by 0058 GMT. The US crude contract for August delivery, which expires later on Tuesday, was up 49 cents (0.7 per cent) at $66.91 a barrel. US crude for September delivery was up around 1 per cent at $66.99 a barrel, the report said.