Price of ATF or jet fuel hiked by 16.3%

The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel has been hiked by 16.3%, in the second straight increase in rates this month.

Price of jet fuels increased by Rs 5,494/ kilo litre to 39,069/ kilo litre in Delhi. In Kolkata, ATF will cost Rs 44,024/ kilo litre while in Chennai, it will be priced at Rs 40,240/ kilo litre. In Mumbai ATF will cost 38,565/ kilo litre. These rates are effecting starting June 16, according to the IOCL website.

This is the second increase in ATF prices in June alone. On June 1, the price of aviation turbine fuel was hiked by Rs 11,000/kilo litre.

In May, ATF prices were slashed by a steep 23 percent in line with a slump in international oil prices. Between February and May, jet fuel prices were cut by almost two-thirds.

Airlines stopped operations mid-March in view of restrictions placed to check the spread of the novel coronavirus but opened up restrictions on domestic travel from May 25.

Simultaneously, petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the 10th day in a row.

Also read — Petrol and diesel prices hiked for 10th straight day; Petrol to cost 47 paise more per litre, diesel 93 paise

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 76.73 per litre from Rs 76.26, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 75.19 a litre from Rs 74.26, the price notification said.

In 10 hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 5.47 per litre and diesel by Rs 5.8 a litre.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

The hike in diesel rates is the highest daily increase since the state-owned fuel retailers started daily revision in rates in May 2017.

Tuesday's increase in petrol and diesel price marks the 10th straight day of rise in rates since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.

The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of fall in international oil prices.

The June 1 hike in jet fuel price had come after seven consecutive reductions in rates since February. ATF price in Delhi before the reduction cycle began in February was Rs 64,323.76 per kilolitre, which got reduced to Rs 21,448.62 last month.

Industry officials said the hike was necessitated because benchmark international rates have bounced back from a two-decade low.

While ATF prices are revised on 1st and 16th of every month, petrol and diesel prices are revised on a daily basis.

Oil companies used to revise ATF prices on the first of every month but adopted fortnightly revisions on March 21 to pass on the benefit of falling international oil prices to airlines.

(With inputs from PTI)