State-run oil firms today raised jet fuel price by a massive 4 per cent, the ninth straight increase in rates since October.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been hiked by Rs. 2,104 per kilolitre, or 4.12 per cent, to Rs. 53,538 per kl with effect from midnight tonight, an official of Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest fuel retailer, said.
The hike, the second biggest increase in a year, comes on the back of another 4.5 per cent jump in rates effected from February 1. “The hike has been necessitated because of spurt in international oil rates,” the official said.
This is the ninth straight increase in jet fuel prices since October 2010, when international crude oil prices started soaring.
The ATF price in Delhi in October 1 was Rs. 40,728.52 per kl. The rates were increased by Rs. 12,334.48 per kl or 30.28 per cent in nine tranches since then, in tandem with surge in global oil prices.
Jet fuel will cost Rs. 53,538 per kl in Mumbai, home to the nation’s busiest airport, from tomorrow, as against Rs. 51,332.82 per kl currently.
No comment could be immediately obtained from airline companies on the impact of the latest price hike on passenger fares.
Fuel cost accounts for 40 per cent of the airlines’ operating cost.
Indian Oil Corp and sister public sector retailers Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum revise jet fuel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding fortnight.
