New Record: Petrol, Diesel prices in Mumbai touch ‘all-time’ high on Sunday, Sep 2

The prices of petrol and diesel reached a new all-time high in Mumbai on Sunday, as Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) continued to hike fuel prices for the 8th consecutive day.

As of 6 am today, petrol price in Mumbai breached its highest ever mark of Rs 86.24, and was seen being sold at Rs 86.25 per litre, Rs 0.16 more than the previous day.

Diesel, on the other hand, was retailing at Rs 75.12 per litre, surpassing its previous high set a day earlier. The price of diesel was hiked by Rs 0.36 paisa today.

A day prior on Saturday, petrol was being sold at Rs 86.09 per litre (increased by Rs 0.16 per litre), while diesel prices had reached a high of Rs. 74.76 per litre (increased by Rs 0.22 per litre).

Although fuel prices have been on the rise since the last few months, a comparison with last year’s prices shows that the price of diesel has risen much more than that of petrol.

On September 2, 2017 the price of petrol in Mumbai was Rs 78.54 and that of diesel was Rs 60.77, implying that the price of petrol has risen by just Rs 7.71 or 9.81 percent while that of diesel has increased by Rs 14.35 or 23.61 percent in the 12-month period.

In terms of absolute numbers, the difference in the price of petrol and diesel has also come down from Rs 17.77 as of September 2, 2017 to Rs 11.13 on September 2, 2018.

The rise in prices of diesel gains significance as it is mostly used in the transportation of food and agricultural products. Since it has a direct correlation with the price of basic necessities, its increase can lead to higher inflation.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has said the rise in crude oil price in the international market and devaluation of the Indian rupee against the US Dollar were responsible for the increase in fuel prices in the country.

There has been a surge in fuel prices since August 16, after the rupee hit a record low of 71 against the US dollar.