Petrol moves perilously close to 90-mark in Mumbai

The upward trend in fuel prices continued on Monday, with the cost of petrol moving perilously close to Rs 90 in Mumbai.

After the latest hike, the price of petrol rose to Rs 89.44 per litre in Mumbai, while diesel is being sold at Rs 78.33 per litre. Compared to Sunday, the prices of petrol and diesel were hiked by Rs 0.15 and Rs 0.7 respectively in the maximum city.

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, petrol is now being sold at Rs 82.06 per litre (increased by Rs 0.15 per litre), while the price of diesel has been hiked by Rs 0.6 per litre to Rs 73.78 per litre.

A combination of a dip in rupee value against the US dollar and rise in crude oil prices has led to a spike in pump prices since mid-August.

Petrol price has since risen by Rs 4.20 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.53 – the most in any one-month period since the daily revision in fuel prices was introduced in June last year.

Furthermore, in Mumbai, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 3.35 and diesel by Rs 3.57 in September alone.

The union government has been facing flak in the past few weeks for not implementing stringent measures to curb prices.

Earlier this week, the Congress Party and 21 other regional and national parties observed a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on account of the consistent rise in fuel prices and urged the government to take necessary steps to reduce citizens’ woes.

However, the Centre has maintained that external factors, including a rise in international crude oil prices, are influencing domestic fuel prices.

Amid the ongoing rise, three states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal – have cut duties on fuel by Rs 1-2 to provide some respite. However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has not announced any reduction for now.