Diesel price now crosses Rs.100-mark in 2 more districts
For the second consecutive day, the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased the prices of petrol and diesel on Thursday providing no relief to consumers.
According to a price notification of state-owned OMCs, the prices of both petrol and diesel were hiked by 35 paise per litre each taking the rates to record high levels across the country.
Following the latest hike, diesel prices have crossed Rs.100-a-litre mark in four districts of Nagaland—Tuensang, Kiphire, Noklak and Mon. (See table)
Diesel has touched that level in over a dozen states though petrol has already hit the Rs 100-a-litre mark or more in most of the states. This is the second consecutive day of price hike. There was no change in rates on October 18 and 19, prior to which prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre each on four straight days.
According to a PTI report, international benchmark Brent crude on Thursday was trading above USD 85 per barrel, USD 11 more than last month.
However, when crude prices were down, instead of passing the benefit to consumers, the government raised excise duty on auto fuels in March last year and again in May 2020. For petrol, duty rose from Rs.19.98 a litre to Rs 32.90, while for diesel it increased from Rs 15.83 a litre to Rs 31.80 a litre.