Prices of petrol and diesel remained unchanged on Saturday, May 7. Fuel rates have remained steady for a month now. Since the end of a four-and-a-half-month hiatus in rate revision on March 22, rates of petrol and diesel have increased by Rs 10 per litre each through 14 revisions. Fuel prices were last hiked on April 6 by 80 paise a litre each.
According to a price notification from fuel retailers, petrol in Delhi costs Rs 105.41 per litre and diesel Rs 96.67 per litre.
In Mumbai, petrol and diesel prices per litre are at Rs 120.51 and Rs 104.77 respectively. In Chennai, petrol costs Rs 110.85 per litre and diesel Rs 100.94 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol is at Rs 115.12 per litre and diesel Rs 99.83 per litre.
On April 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking on high fuel prices, urged chief ministers to cut value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel to pass on the benefits and ease the burden on citizens. He also said though some states had reduced taxes, others were yet to provide relief.
A report on April 12 stated that the current domestic retail fuel prices are benchmarked to international oil prices at $95 per barrel. With Brent crude oil prices close to $100 per barrel in the week, domestic fuel prices could freeze again for some time.
India is 80% dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs and so retail rates adjust accordingly to the global movement in crude prices. On a daily basis, oil marketing companies (OMCs) adjust the rates of petrol and diesel depending on the average price of benchmark fuel in the worldwide market over the previous 15 days and foreign exchange rates.
Every day at 6 am, any changes in petrol and diesel prices take effect. Here is how petrol and diesel prices are calculated in India. Also, know how much of it is tax.
137-day freeze on fuel prices ended on March 22: From November 3, 2021 until March 22, 2022, there had been a freeze on fuel prices after the central government's excise duty cut of Rs 5 a litre on petrol and Rs 10 a litre on diesel, and many states also lowering state tax.