Fuel prices have been hiked after a days gap. Petrol is retailing at nearly Rs.100 per litre in Mumbai after the fresh price revision. Check the latest petrol and diesel rates in major cities.

Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked after a day’s gap. (Photo: Reuters)

Fuel prices were hiked by state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Thursday after a day’s gap. Petrol price has been hiked by roughly 24 paise and diesel has become dearer by 29-30 paise.

Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked despite flat global crude oil prices. The price of both auto fuels has been hiked by over Rs 3 per litre since the beginning of the month.

In Delhi, the price of petrol has increased to Rs 93.68 per litre and diesel is retailing at Rs 84.61 per litre. At Rs 99.94 per litre, Mumbai has the highest rate for petrol among major cities, while diesel is also inching closer to Rs 92 per litre.

Petrol price has recently touched Rs 100 per litre in Jaipur after it had earlier crossed the figure in some districts located in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. There is not a single district where petrol price is now below Rs 90 per litre.

Diesel price has seen an equally sharp rise in May and rates are crossed Rs 90 per litre in more districts rapidly.

Check latest rates in major cities:

The fresh round of fuel price hike has worried economists who have warned of an inflation-driven demand crunch due to increased petrol and diesel prices.

A reduction in high excise duty or VAT could help stabilise prices, but neither the state governments nor the Centre is willing to cut down on fuel tax revenue at the moment. This is because higher fuel taxes help them generate higher revenue when all other sources have dried up during the pandemic.

Having said that, higher fuel prices will still hurt the economy as citizens are likely to cut down on other discretionary expenses, leading to a drop in demand.