Petrol, diesel prices see steepest hike since July 5

Both petrol and diesel prices witness an increase of 24-25 paise per litre

Red zone: Oil marketing companies may have to increase retail product prices in asthe following fortnight.

Oil marketing companies on Wednesday raised petrol and diesel prices by 0.25 paise and 0.24 paise a litre, respectively, the largest such increase in nearly two-and-a-half months.

Petrol will now cost ₹72.42 a litre and diesel ₹65.82 in Delhi, the reference market for the nation. The latest hike is the second consecutive large increase in petrol and diesel prices. On Tuesday, oil marketing companies increased the prices by 0.14 paise and 0.15 paise, respectively.

The increase on Wednesday was the largest since July 5, when the Budget presented that day raised the excise duty on fuel resulting in a nearly ₹2.5 a litre increase in the prices of petrol and diesel.

The price of petrol in Mumbai now stands at ₹78.1 and diesel ₹69.04 a litre. The prices in Chennai stand at ₹75.26 and ₹69.57, respectively.

The two successive increases come days after a major drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s crude oil processing units in Abqaiq and Khurais, alarming global markets and leading to a 20% jump in oil prices.

The attack affected half of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production and about 5% of global production. The CEO of Saudi Aramco, the country’s national oil company and owner of the affected units, said that full production will be restored by the end of this month.