No respite for the common man as fuel prices hiked again

Petrol prices on Sunday were above Rs 100 a litre mark in all major cities across the country after its rates and that of diesel were hiked by 80 paise a litre each - the 11th increase in less than two weeks that took the total to a record Rs 8 per litre.

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 103.41 per litre as against Rs 102.61 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 93.87 per litre to Rs 94.67, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state, depending upon the incidence of local taxation.

This is the 11th increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22. In all, petrol prices have gone up by Rs 8.00 per litre.

Petrol prices are above Rs 100 a litre mark in all major cities from Srinagar to Kochi.

Diesel is above that mark in Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 101.83 a litre), Hyderabad (Rs 103.3), Mumbai (Rs 102.62), Bhubaneswar (Rs 100.1), Raipur (Rs 100.74) and several cities of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh. Diesel rates in Chennai and Bhopal are above Rs 99 per litre.

Diesel is the costliest in Chittor in Andhra Pradesh (Rs 105.52 a litre), while petrol at Rs 120.65 a litre is the costliest at the border town of Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.

Prices had been on a freeze since November 4 ahead of the assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab -- a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about $30 per barrel.

The rate revision was expected soon after the counting of votes on March 10 but it was put off by a couple of weeks.

The increase in retail price warranted by crude oil prices rising during the 137-day hiatus is huge, but state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) are passing on the required increase in stages.

Moody's Investors Services last month stated that state retailers together lost around $2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during the election period.

Oil companies "will need to raise diesel prices by Rs 13.1-24.9 per litre and Rs 10.6-22.3 a litre on gasoline (petrol) at an underlying crude price of $100-120 per barrel," according to Kotak Institutional Equities.

Crisil Research said a Rs 9-12 per litre increase in retail price will be required for a full pass-through of an average $100 per barrel crude oil and Rs 15-20 a litre hike if the average crude oil price rises to $110-120.

India is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs and so retail rates adjust accordingly to the global movement.

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