After Rajasthan, diesel hits `100 in Odisha

After Rajasthan, diesel prices have crossed Rs 100-per-litre mark in Odisha after fuel prices were hiked again. The price of petrol was hiked by 28 paise per litre and diesel by 26 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 97.50 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 88.23 per litre. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.

Petrol has already crossed Rs 100 mark in nine states and Union territories -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, and Ladakh. Among metro cities, petrol is already above Rs 100 in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

The hike on Tuesday was the 28th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal. In 28 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 7.10 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.50 a litre. Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15 days, and foreign exchange rates. International oil prices have firmed up in recent weeks in anticipation of demand recovery following the rollout of vaccination programme by various countries. Brent crude on Tuesday neared $75 per barrel mark, the first time since April 2019. Also, the rupee has weakened against the US dollar, making imports costlier.

And, for this reason, first petrol and now diesel have crossed Rs 100 a litre mark at several places. Rates of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, had crossed Rs 100 mark in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan earlier this month. Now, they have crossed the same mark in Malkangiri (Rs 101.12 per litre) and Koraput (Rs 100.46 a litre) in Odisha. In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 103.63 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 95.72.