The upward movement of petrol and diesel rates resumed on Friday after a day’s pause as pumps raised prices of the two fuels by 29 paise and 34 paise per litre respectively, making petrol costlier by ₹1.94 a litre and diesel by ₹2.22 per litre in 11 days.
With the latest price revision on Friday, the eighth hike since May 4, fuel rates broke yet another record by taking pump prices of petrol to ₹92.34 per litre and diesel to ₹82.95 a litre in the national Capital. While fuel rates in Delhi are the benchmark for the entire country, retail prices of the two fuels vary from place to place because of variations in state taxes and local levies.
Petrol prices have already crossed the ₹100 to a litre mark in several places such as Ganganagar (Rajasthan), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), and Parbhari (Maharashtra).
To be sure, much of the retail price is taxes. For instance, in Delhi, on May 14, central taxes accounted for 36.4% of petrol’s price, and state taxes, 23%. On diesel, central levies are over 39% while state taxes are about 15%. Through 2020, as global crude prices fell, the Central government raised excise duty on the fuel to shore up its finances. States too followed suit — with revenue hit on account of the pandemic.