Petrol and diesel prices on May 11 were hiked for the sixth time this month, propelling prices to cross the ₹100-a-litre-mark in places from Nanded in Maharashtra to Rewa in Madhya Pradesh to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
Petrol price was hiked by 27 paise a litre and diesel by 30 paise per litre, according to a price notification by State-owned fuel retailers.
The increase took petrol and diesel prices to their highest-ever level across the country. In Delhi, petrol now comes for ₹91.80 per litre and diesel is priced at ₹82.36.
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This was the sixth increase in prices since May 4, when the State-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in States like West Bengal.
The price increase led to petrol rates crossing the ₹100-mark in more places of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Fuel prices differ from State to State depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh.
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Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan had the costliest petrol and diesel in the country at ₹102.70 per litre and ₹95.06 a litre respectively. Also in Rajasthan, petrol crossed the ₹100-mark in Jaisalmer (₹100.71) and Bikaner (₹100.70) while it neared that mark in Barmer (₹99.82).
Petrol in several districts of Madhya Pradesh, including Shahdol (₹102.06), Rewa (₹102.04), Chhindwara (₹101.67) and Balaghat (₹101.98) crossed the physiological mark. It neared that mark in Indore (₹99.90 a litre) and Bhopal (₹99.83).
If rates continue to raise, Bhopal will be the first State capital to see petrol at ₹100.
In Nanded district of Maharashtra, petrol was being sold at ₹100.30.
In six increases, petrol price has risen by ₹1.41 per litre and diesel by ₹1.63.
After raising petrol price by a record ₹21.58 per litre and diesel by ₹19.18 since the government raised excise duty to an all-time high in March last year, State-owned fuel retailers, IOC, BPCL and HPCL had reduced petrol price by 67 paise a litre and diesel by 74 paise per litre effected between March 24 and April 15.
Oil companies, who have in recent months resorted to unexplained freeze in rate revision, had hit a pause button after cutting prices marginally on April 15. This coincided with electioneering hitting peak to elect new governments in five States including West Bengal.
No sooner had voting ended, oil companies indicated an impending increase in retail prices in view of firming trends in international oil markets.
They said prices have been on a continuous uptrend since April 27.
Central and State taxes make up for 60% of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54% of diesel. The union government levies ₹32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol and ₹31.80 on diesel.
In Mumbai, the petrol price was hiked to ₹98.12 a litre on May 11 from ₹97.86, while diesel rates were increased to ₹89.48 from ₹89.17, the price notification showed.