Karnataka voting over, oil firms raise petrol, diesel prices
NEW DELHI:State-run oil marketing companies on Monday raised petrol and diesel prices by 17 paise and 21 paise per litre respectively, after keeping them unchanged since April 24.
The hike comes after voting for Karnataka assembly elections got over on Saturday. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) chairman Sanjiv Singh had earlier said that his firm had decided to “temporarily moderate” prices.
On Monday, diesel prices touched ₹66.14 per litre in Delhi, a record high at IOCL outlets. Petrol prices also rose to ₹74.80 per litre on Monday, the highest since they were raised to ₹76.06 per litre on September 14, 2013. On April 24, diesel prices had reached ₹65.93 per litre in Delhi, with petrol prices also peaking to ₹74.63 per litre.
The National Democratic Alliance government has maintained that it has got no role in pricing since India’s three government-run oil marketing companies—IOCL, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL)—introduced dynamic fuel pricing in June, joining countries such as the US and Australia, where fuel prices change daily depending on global oil price fluctuations.
The cost of the Indian basket of crude, which averaged $47.56 and $56.43 per barrel in FY17 and FY18, respectively, rose to an average of $69.30 in April 2018, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The price was $75.26 a barrel on May 11. The Indian basket represents the average of Oman, Dubai and Brent crude.
Retail prices of petrol and diesel in India track the global prices of these auto fuels, not crude, although they are broadly linked to crude oil price trends, which have firmed up.
This comes in the backdrop of President Donald Trump pulling US out of a historic 2015 accord with energy-rich Iran that was inked to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme in return for ending sanctions. Also, there has been a sharp spike in international crude oil prices due to a combination of factors such as Opec and Russia cutting supplies, falling production in Venezuela and geopolitical tensions.