Fuel rates: Petrol, diesel prices hiked for first time in over a month on higher crude oil prices and weakening rupee
FirstpostThe increase of 16 paisa a litre in petrol and 12 paisa per litre in diesel came after an 8-day self-imposed hiatus in rate revisions by state-oil firms in anticipation of softening international rates due to OPEC decision to raise output by 1 million barrels per day New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices were on Thursday hiked for the first time in more than a month on the back of rising international rates and weakening rupee. The increase of 16 paisa a litre in petrol and 12 paisa per litre in diesel came after an 8-day self-imposed hiatus in rate revisions by state-oil firms in anticipation of softening international rates due to OPEC decision to raise output by 1 million barrels per day. State-owned oil firms, who had in mid-June last year dumped 15-year practice of revising rates on 1st and 16th of every month in favour of daily price revisions, had last changed prices on 26 June when petrol price was cut by 14 paise and diesel by 10 paise. The central government had raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 11.77 a litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre in nine installments between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.