State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased petrol and diesel prices for the second consecutive day Tuesday taking the prices of the two auto fuels to new highs across the country.
Petrol price was increased by 26 paise per litre and diesel by 23 paise per litre. Petrol price in Dimapur rose to an all-time high of Rs.93.24 per litre while diesel price surged to record high of Rs.87.48 per litre. Similarly, in the state capital Kohima, prices of petrol and diesel climbed to fresh highs of Rs.94.19 per litre and Rs.88.25 per litre respectively.
The increase on Tuesday is the 17th 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.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.
In 17 increases, petrol price has risen by Rs 4.09 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.65 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.
According to PTI report, Brent crude oil – the most widely used international benchmark – has risen 36 per cent this year to more than USD 70 a barrel. This has prompted an increase in retail fuel prices.
Rates are at the highest in the country in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan where petrol comes for Rs 105.52 a litre and diesel for Rs 98.32 per litre.