In the past few months, with the second wave of Covid-19, India has witnessed an increase in the cost of fuel. There was a sharp rise in the cost of petrol in the last 60 days. Meanwhile, the cost of diesel has also gone up by Rs 8.45 and has reached Rs 89.18 in the last two months. One-litre petrol, in Delhi, is priced at Rs 98.81 which is a rise of Rs 8.41 since May 1, when petrol was prized at Rs 90.40.
On Wednesday, though consumers experienced and as there wasn’t any change in fuel price. In the last two months, there was an increased fluctuation in the price of fuel for 32 days out of 61 days between May and June. The people experienced new highs in fuel prices across the country throughout the last two months.
Oil companies have cited the slowdown created by the pandemic as a cause for the consistent increase in price in the global oil market, which ultimately caused a price hike. But in India, the increased taxes have led to higher fuel prices when the global oil prices are firm, according to few reports.
Right now, a barrel of crude oil costs around $75 in the global market. In October 2018, the cost of petrol in India was Rs 80 per litre while the global cost of crude was $80 per barrel. Petrol prices have still increased to astronomical numbers even with lowered oil prices globally.
The officials have talked about the possibility of an increase in fuel price after the announcement of the unchanged rate of petrol and diesel by oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Wednesday. Only tax cuts by both centre and state will help in lowering the retail prices of fuel.
In Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, while the price of petrol is the most expensive at Rs 109.67 a litre, diesel has soared to a high of Rs 102.12 per litre. These are new highs for fuel prices in the country. On May 29, the cost of petrol crossed over Rs 100 for the first time in Mumbai and reached Rs 104.90 per litre. The cost, though, didn’t change on Wednesday. But there was the highest increase in the cost of diesel among metros where a one-litre of diesel cost Rs 96.72 in Mumbai.
Fuel prices in India could see a hike with increased demand for fuel in the USA, causing a global increase in crude oil prices. The Intercontinental Exchange saw a multi-year high of over $75 of the Brent crude benchmark.
(With inputs from IANS)