At Rs 80.39, petrol price in Mumbai highest since 2014

Petrol and diesel prices in Mumbai and other Indian metros continued to spiral on Thursday, reaching a three-year high.

Petrol prices in the Mumbai were at Rs 80.39 per litre — the highest in over three years, data from the Indian Oil Corp showed. The previous record was Rs 80.60 in August 2014. The price had crossed the 80-rupee mark earlier this week.

Petrol price in Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai were at Rs 72.49, Rs 75.19, and Rs 75.18 per litre respectively — all three-year highs.

Previous highs in the cities were Rs 72.51 (Delhi, August 2014), Rs 75.46 (Kolkata, October 2014) and Rs 75.78 (Chennai, August 2014).

Similarly, diesel prices have been hitting record levels every day for almost a week now, a trend that continued on Thursday.

In Mumbai, diesel was sold at Rs 67.65 per litre. In Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai, the fuel was priced at Rs 63.53, Rs 66.20, and Rs 67.00 per litre respectively.

Earlier this week, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan attributed the steep rise in cost to the rise in petrol prices in the international market.

Production curbs by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and high demand have led to the surge. On Thursday, price of the Brent crude oil crossed the $70 (a barrel) mark and stood at $71.03.

Incidentally, the daily price revision in India allows for a ‘realtime’ rise in domestic fuel prices in accordance with international trends. The earlier system of price determination of petrol had a waiting period of 15 days.

The Centre, meanwhile, is trying to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a bid to stabilise the fuel cost.

With agency inputs