Petrol, diesel prices witness 8th increase in 9 days, check new rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata

Petrol and diesel prices have now gone up by Rs 5.60 per litre each in the last few days.

New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices were on Wednesday (March 30, 2022) hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last nine days to Rs 5.60 per litre.

This is the ninth increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22. 

On the first four occasions, prices were increased by 80 paise a litre - the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision was introduced in June 2017. 

On the following days, petrol price went up by 50 paise and 30 paise a litre while diesel rose by 55 paise and 35 paise a litre. Petrol price was on Tuesday hiked by 80 paise a litre and diesel by 70 paise.

In all, petrol and diesel prices have gone up by Rs 5.60 per litre each. 

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 101.01 per litre as against Rs 100.21 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 91.47 per litre to Rs 92.27.

In Mumbai, the petrol and diesel prices per litre are Rs 115.88 and Rs 100.10 respectively. In Chennai, petrol will now be sold at Rs 106.69 and diesel at Rs 96.76. The price of petrol in Kolkata is now Rs 110.52 and diesel is Rs 95.42.

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

Record fuel price hike due to spike in oil prices during last couple of weeks: Govt

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday defended the 137-day hiatus in fuel price revision and said that the disruption in supply chains and the resultant increase in global oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war was a "couple of weeks" phenomenon resulting in the record hike in petrol and diesel prices in the recent days.

International oil prices had started moving up days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The basket of crude oil that India buys averaged USD 100.71 per barrel that day as compared to USD 82 in early November 2021 when state-owned fuel retailers hit the pause button on daily price revision.

Replying to a debate on the Budget for 2022-23 in Rajya Sabha, she said opposition members had stated that the war in Ukraine had been raging for a long time and fuel prices are being raised now.
"Absolutely untrue," she said. "The disruption and a resultant increase in the price of global oil and also disruption to supply are all happening since a couple of weeks ago and we are responding to it."

(With agency inputs)