Petrol crosses Rs 99 in Mumbai after rates hiked again

 

Petrol price on Tuesday crossed Rs 99 a litre mark in Mumbai after oil companies raised petrol and diesel rates on surge in international oil prices.

Petrol price was increased by 27 paise per litre and diesel by 29 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

The hike - tenth this month - pushed petrol and diesel prices to an all-time high across the country.

In Delhi, petrol rates climbed to Rs 92.85 a litre and diesel rose to Rs 83.51.

Rates had already crossed the Rs 100-mark in several cities in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and with the latest increase, the price in Mumbai too was inching towards that level.

A litre of petrol in Mumbai now comes for Rs 99.14 and diesel is priced at Rs 90.71 per litre.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.

Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The hike comes as Brent crude oil price rose above $70 per barrel for the first time since March 15.

This is the tenth increase in prices since May 4, when the state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan had the costliest petrol and diesel in the country at Rs 103.80 per litre and Rs 96.30 a litre, respectively.

In 10 increases, petrol price has risen by Rs 2.46 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.78.