Petrol Prices Just 1% Away From Highest Ever, Diesel At New Record High

Petrol, diesel prices are up 69-73 paise per litre in four days Global crude prices have risen to near 2014 highs Crude prices are near $80 per barrel

NDTV Profit Team

17 May 2018, 07:32 PM IST

Petrol and diesel prices today were hiked by 22-24 paise per litre across the four metros

With effect from 6 am on Thursday, May 17, petrol prices were at Rs 75.32 per litre in Delhi, Rs 78.01 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 83.16 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 78.16 per litre in Chennai, according to Indian Oil Corporation. Diesel prices were at Rs 66.79 per litre in Delhi, Rs 69.33 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 71.12 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 70.49 per litre in Chennai.

Including Thursday's hike, petrol prices have gone up in the range of 69-73 paise per litre across Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai in four days. Diesel prices have been raised by 70-93 paise per litre. Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked for four straight days after a 19-day hiatus, when prices were kept unchanged.

Cities	Petrol price (in Rs. per litre)				Diesel price (in Rs. per litre)
	17-May	13-May	31-Mar	31-Dec	17-May	13-May	31-Mar	31-Dec
Delhi	75.32	74.63	73.55	69.97	66.79	65.93	64.4	59.64
Kolkata	78.01	77.32	76.26	72.72	69.33	68.63	67.09	62.3
Mumbai	83.16	82.48	81.41	77.87	71.12	70.2	68.58	63.27
Chennai	78.16	77.43	76.29	72.53	70.49	69.56	67.93	62.83
(Source: iocl.com)

With international crude oil prices still near 2014 highs and the rupee down more than 6 per cent against US dollar so far this year, domestic petrol and diesel prices may continue to rise in the very short term, say experts.
“Crude prices appear to have reached levels that are unsustainable to both the producers and the consumers therefore the price are expected to recalibrate to a more sustainable level in the medium and long term… For the Indian consumer short-term pain at the pump is going to stay… we do not expect a very steep hike in the prices in the medium term, the prices in the short term would remain volatile with a positive bias,” Rahul Agarwal, director Wealth Discovery/EZ Wealth, told NDTV.
So far this year, petrol prices have been increased by Rs 5.35 per litre in Delhi, Rs 5.29 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 5.29 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 5.63 per litre in Chennai, data from Indian Oil showed. Diesel prices have been raised by Rs 7.15 per litre, Rs 7.03 per litre, Rs 7.85 per litre and Rs 7.66 per litre respectively. (Also read: Excise Duty Cut Rules Out | Government for bringing petrol under GST)
"We expect crude oil prices (Brent) to loom around $70-$80/bbl in remaining 2018 amid increased geopolitical tension with downward risk to price from increasing US shale production in the higher price environment...In the current scenario, rising crude oil price may push oil companies to revise petrol and diesel price more frequently in near term," Abhishek Bansal, founder and chairman of Abans Group, told NDTV. "This trend may continue further unless we see any major correction in crude oil prices," he said. (Read more)
In international crude oil market, prices were firm today, with Brent crude creeping closer to $80 per barrel - a level it has not seen since November 2014. Brent crude futures were at $79.32 per barrel at 5:57 am, up 4 cents from their last close.
The rupee recovered some ground against the US dollar to close at 67.79 on Wednesday, but was still not far from the crucial 68 level. Rising crude prices, outflows from domestic capital markets and a rising dollar has kept pressure on the rupee.
Currently, petrol and diesel rates in the country are determined broadly by global crude oil and rupee-dollar forex rate. That is part of a daily system of fuel price revisions adopted in June last year.
Recent macroeconomic data showed that trade deficit for fiscal year 2017-18 grew to $156.8 billion from $105.72 billion in the previous year, mainly driven by a rising oil import bill - a growing concern for the Reserve Bank of India. Crude oil is the biggest item on the import bill of India. India imports more than 80 per cent of its crude oil requirements.

(With agency inputs)