The rally in international oil prices has been reflected in rising retail prices in India
Petrol price crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Delhi following a fuel price hike on the back of firming international oil rates. It has increased by 35 paise per litre and costs Rs 100.21 per litre, while diesel rates were increased by 17 paise a litre and settled at Rs 89.53 a litre , according to a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers. This is the fourth increase in petrol prices this month.
The national capital is the last metro city to see the price above the Rs 100-a-litre mark, the price of petrol soared to Rs 100.21 per litre and diesel rates rose to Rs 89.53 a litre.
Kolkata also saw petrol prices climbing over Rs 100 per litre on Wednesday. The fuel now costs Rs 100.23 a litre in the city.
Brent crude oil had surged to $78 per barrel as OPEC+ proposal for a monthly output hike of 400,000 barrels per day from next month has been put on hold and lifting of US sanctions on Iran's exports no longer appears imminent.
OPEC+ led by Saudi Arabia linking output hike to extending OPEC+ deal up to December 2022, without any revision in production baselines demanded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has led to a stalemate.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates global oil demand to recover to a pre-Covid level of 100.6 million barrels per day only in the fourth quarter of the 2022 calendar year, while OPEC+ proposal is to unwind production cuts fully by September 2022.
The rally in international oil prices has been reflected in rising retail prices in India, which is 85 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.
As much as 55 per cent of the retail selling price of petrol in Delhi is made up of taxes (Rs 32.90 a litre excise duty collected by the central government and Rs 22.80 VAT levied by the state government).
Half of the diesel price is made up of taxes (Rs 31.80 central excise and Rs 13.04 state VAT).
Petrol has crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu, and Kashmir, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar, Punjab, Ladakh, Sikkim, and Pondicherry.
Diesel, the most used fuel in the country, is above that level in some places in Rajasthan, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.
The hike on Wednesday is the 36th increase in the price of petrol since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.
In 36 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 9.81 per litre. During this period, diesel rates have soared by Rs 8.80 a litre in 34 instances of the price increase.