Oil firms hike price of fuel after one month

New Delhi: With international crude oil prices rising and Rupee weakening, state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Thursday hiked petrol and diesel prices for the first time in more than a month.

The OMCs raised petrol prices by 16 paisa a litre and diesel by 12 paisa per litre. It is for the first time after May 29, that fuel prices have been raised. The price of petrol in Delhi climbed to Rs 75.71 per litre from Rs 75.55 and diesel to Rs 67.50 a litre from Rs 67.38.

Since May 29, prices were being reduced as international prices had started softening. But now the trend once again seems to be reversing which will pinch the pockets of common man.  

Also since June 26, oil companies had kept fuel prices unchanged in anticipation of softening in international rates due to Opec decision to raise output by 1 million barrels per day.

“We had not changed prices for a few days in anticipation Opec decision to raise production leading to softening of international rates. But the 1 million barrels of additional production, which was to kick-in from July, has been overdone by the Iran issue,” IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh said.

While the Opec last month decided to raise production, the US is piling pressure on India, China, and other buyers to end all imports of Iranian oil by a November 4 deadline in a bid to choke the Persian Gulf state’s economic lifeline with sanctions over its nuclear programme.

Mr Singh said Iran produces around 2.3 to 2.5 million barrels per day and the world searching for alternates to replace those volumes has put pressure on the prices.

Prices had hit an all-time high of Rs 78.43 a litre for petrol and Rs 69.31 per litre for diesel on May 29. That peak had triggered demands for a cut in excise but the Centre had ruled out any cut.