ATF prices skyrocket to all-time high

Clipping Indian airlines' wings

• With 4 hikes this year, ATF prices have gone up by Rs 16,497.38 per kl

• The increase in price will put pressure on the already strained balance sheets of airlines that are yet to resume full operations due to pandemic-related restrictions

• The rate is higher than Rs 71,028.26 per kl reached in August 2008 when international crude oil prices touched $147 per barrel

New Delhi: Jet fuel prices on Wednesday soared to record high levels across the country after rates were increased by 5.2 per cent in line with a rise in international oil prices.

This is the fourth hike in jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices in less than two months following a spike in global oil prices but petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for a record 103rd day in a row, coinciding with electioneering to elect new governments in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

ATF price was hiked by Rs 4,481.63 per kilolitre or 5.2 per cent to Rs 90,519.79 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the highest ever price touched by ATF. The rate is higher than Rs 71,028.26 per kl reached in August 2008 when international crude oil prices touched $147 per barrel. Brent crude oil on Tuesday was trading at $93.87 per barrel. The increase in price will put pressure on the already strained balance sheets of airlines that are yet to resume full operations due to pandemic-related restrictions.

Wednesday's price increase is the fourth hike this year. Rates were hiked by Rs 2,039.63 per kl or 2.75 per cent to Rs 76,062.04 per kl on January 1 and then again by Rs 3,232.87 per kl (4.25 per cent) to Rs 79,294.91 per kl on January 16. They went up by Rs 6,743.25 per kl or 8.5 per cent to Rs 86,038.16 on February 1. With four hikes, ATF prices have gone up by Rs 16,497.38 per kl. These hikes in the rate came on the back of two rounds of price cuts seen in December that reflected a drop in international oil prices during the second half of November and mid-December.

Thereafter, international rates have firmed up, leading to the hike in ATF prices. ATF prices had last peaked at Rs 80,835.04 per kl in mid-November 2021 before it was cut on December 1 and 15 by a total of Rs 6,812.25 per kl or 8.4 per cent. Jet fuel prices are revised on the 1st and 16th of every month based on the average price of the international benchmark in the preceding fortnight. Unlike ATF, petrol and diesel rates are revised daily after taking the average price in the preceding fortnight. But prices have remained unchanged since November 4, 2021, when the central government had cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 10 a litre.