At one end the petrol motors have been criticised for consuming high fuel while on the other the diesel motors have also been condemned for being noisy and low powered.
Since August, petrol price has been cumulatively cut by Rs 9.36 per litre.
Petrol price was hiked by 30 paise per litre and diesel by 35 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The seventh straight day of price hike pushed fuel rates to a new record high. The price of petrol in Delhi rose to its highest-ever level of Rs 104.44 a litre and Rs 110.41 per litre in Mumbai, the notification showed. In Mumbai, diesel now comes for Rs 101.03 a litre; while in Delhi, it costs Rs 93.17.
Lower fuel subsidy payouts might restrict gross fiscal deficit in FY15.
Under-recovery or the gap between retail selling price and the cost of import, this month dipped to an all-time low of 8 paise a litre, helped by the monthly increases and softening in international oil rates.
The government has cut petrol price by Rs 5 and diesel by 2 a litre with effect from midnight tonight.
Indian refiners are likely to import 2-2.2 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June - the highest in the last two years and more than the total volumes bought from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, preliminary data by global trade analytics firm Kpler showed.
Additionally, road cess on petrol was raised by Re 1 per litre each on petrol and diesel to Rs 10.
Petrol price cut by 50 paisa a litre; diesel by 46 paisa.
However, it may still not change its stance on the policy rate as inflationary pressures are coming from high commodity prices.
The government had, on June 25, freed petrol price from its control resulting in a hike of Rs 3.50 per litre.
OMCs are currently incurring daily under-recovery of Rs 230 crore.
A decision on raising diesel prices by Rs 3-5 per litre, kerosene by Rs 2 and LPG by up to Rs 50 per cylinder will be taken after UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi returns from US, top government officials said.
India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, spent 112.5 billion euro (about Rs 1.5 lakh crore) on buying crude oil from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, a European think tank said on Thursday. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) released a report on payments to Russia for fossil fuels since February 24, 2022. "According to our estimates, since the beginning of the war, Russia earned EUR 835 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports," it said.
It is the seventh reduction in jet fuel rates since August
Diesel price needs to be revised upward, or subjected to higher taxes, as misuse of subsidized diesel was adding to pollution and public health costs, the government's pre-budget economic report card said on Thursday.
Diesel price needs to be revised upward, or subjected to higher taxes, as misuse of subsidized diesel was adding to pollution and public health costs, the government's pre-budget economic report card said on Thursday.
Investors shunned shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Friday as they feared that the government's decision to cut retail prices of petrol and diesel could hurt the companies' profit margins in the near term. On Thursday, the government announced that OMCs will reduce pump prices of petrol and diesel after a record 22 months, making them cheaper by Rs 2 per litre in the national capital. The changes were effective from Friday.
With Brent crude oil prices dipping below $100 per barrel, petrol prices may be cut by Re 1 a litre and there is also a likelihood of first reduction in diesel rates in seven years.
International oil prices have hit a six-month low, helping Indian fuel retailers breakeven on petrol but they continue to lose money on diesel - the most used fuel in the country, officials said. The world's best-known crude benchmark, Brent was trading at $94.91 per barrel on Thursday after concerns of a global recession led to it slipping to a six-month low of $91.51 on the previous day. The current rates are a relief to India, which is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs.
Government-controlled oil-marketing companies (OMCs) have held back petrol and diesel price revisions for a week and are expected to continue doing so, ostensibly owing to political reasons. It appears that the Centre has informally conveyed to the three major OMCs to not revise fuel prices for the time being, two people in the government said. This informal directive follows the talks between the Centre and states on cutting taxes and bringing the auto fuels under the good service tax regime not fetching the desired results, so far.
Petrol and diesel price soared to an all-time high across the country on Friday after rates were hiked again by 25 paise and 30 paise a litre, respectively. The price of petrol in Delhi rose it its highest ever level of Rs 101.89 a litre and to Rs 107.95 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Diesel rates too touched a record high of Rs 90.17 in Delhi and Rs 97.84 in Mumbai.
Petrol price was on Wednesday hiked by a steep Rs 3.38 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.67 a litre, reversing a two-month declining trend.
After Delhi, CNG price in Mumbai has been hiked by Rs 1.50 per kg and the rate of cooking gas piped to houses by Re 1 due to rise in input costs. Mahanagar Gas Ltd, which retails CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to households for cooking purposes in Mumbai and surrounding cities, said the increased prices will come into effect from the intervening night of July 8 and 9.
CNG price in the national capital on Friday was hiked by 80 paise per kg, while piped cooking gas rates were increased by a steep Rs 5 per cubic metre on the back of the government raising input natural gas prices to record levels. CNG price in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has been increased to Rs 60.81 per kg from Rs 60.01, according to information posted on the website of Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) -- the firm which retails CNG and piped cooking gas in the national capital. This is the sixth increase in CNG prices in the last month.
The government on Monday scrapped 30-month old windfall profit tax on domestically-produced crude oil and on export of jet fuel (ATF), diesel and petrol following a decline in international oil prices. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary tabled a notification in Rajya Sabha scrapping the levy on crude oil produced by firms like state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and exports of fuels done by companies like Reliance Industries Ltd.
'SUV is a very intensely fought category, unlike hatchbacks and cars.'
Jet fuel (ATF) price was on Monday hiked by a steep 56.5 per cent and that of non-subsidised cooking gas LPG by Rs 11.5 per cylinder on the back of firming up of international oil rates, but petrol and diesel prices continued to remain on freeze for a record 78th day. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs 12,126.75 per kilolitre (kl), or 56.5 per cent, to Rs 33,575.37 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification by State-owned oil marketing companies.
Normal or unbranded diesel currently attracts basic excise duty of Rs 1.46 a litre and an additional excise duty of Rs 2 per litre.
State-owned fuel retailers are losing close to Rs 3 per litre on selling diesel while the profit on petrol has trimmed due to recent firming up in international oil prices, industry officials said detailing reasons for continuing to hold retail prices. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), who control roughly 90 per cent of India's fuel market, 'voluntarily' have not changed petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices for almost two years now, resulting in losses when input cost was higher and profits when raw material prices were lower.
India's top fuel retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL together lost around $2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Moody's Investors Services said on Thursday. State fuel retailers did not revise petrol and diesel rates for a record 137 days despite prices of crude oil (raw material for producing fuel) rising to $120 per barrel compared to around $82 in early November when the hiatus began. "Based on current market prices, the oil marketing companies are currently incurring a revenue loss of around $25 (over Rs 1,900) per barrel and $24 per barrel on sale of petrol and diesel, respectively," Moody's said in a report.
General Motors India Vice President P Balendran termed the decision as a positive move for the overall economy.
In 2010, the govt had taken an "in-principle" decision to deregulate diesel prices, but could not implement it due to political pressure.
Petrol price was on Tuesday hiked by Rs 2.58 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.26 per litre, the second increase in rates this month.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the excise duty cut would have an impact of Rs 10,500 crore on central government's tax revenues.
Jet fuel (ATF) price on Saturday was slashed by 4.5 per cent and that of commercial LPG used in hotels and restaurants by Rs 25.5 per 19-kg cylinder. The price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder was cut to Rs 1,859.50 in the national capital from Rs 1,885, according to a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers. This is the sixth reduction in price of commercial LPG since June, in step with softening international energy prices.
The winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics says recovery could be difficult if the crisis in Egypt spreads to the entire region.
While consumers feel that petrol pinches directly, diesel hurts indirectly, as it is an input in almost all the goods and services we use.
In the first reduction in rate in two months, jet fuel or ATF price on Thursday was cut by 3 per cent in line with softening international crude oil prices. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was reduced by Rs 1,887 per kilolitre, or 3 per cent, to Rs 58,374.16 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the first reduction in rates after four rounds of increase since February. Rates were increased by Rs 3,246.75 per kl on February 1, followed by a 3.6 per cent hike on February 16, and a steep 6.5 per cent raise on March 1. On March 16, prices were again raised by Rs 860.25 per kl. On Thursday, a Rs 10 per cylinder reduction in price of domestic cooking gas LPG also came into effect.
Diesel price needs to be revised upward, or subjected to higher taxes, as misuse of subsidized diesel was adding to pollution and public health costs, the government's pre-budget economic report card said on Thursday.
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