Petrol crosses Rs 100 in Bihar after another price hike; diesel up by 25 paise

New Delhi: Petrol price soared past Rs 100-a-litre mark in Bihar after fuel prices were hiked again on Sunday on the back of a surge in international oil rates. Petrol price was hiked by 35 paise per litre and diesel by 25 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The increase, second in as many days and 31st in less than two  months, took rates across the country to fresh highs with Bihar becoming the latest state to see petrol cross Rs 100-a-litre mark. Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre each on Saturday. In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 98.46 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 88.90 per litre. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges. While petrol had crossed Rs 100-a-litre mark in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Ladakh, several towns in Bihar saw that level after the steep price hike. In Patna, petrol now comes for Rs 100.47 a litre and diesel is priced at Rs 94.24 a litre. Among metro cities, petrol is already above Rs 100 in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 104.56 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 96.42. Rates of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, have crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan as well in a couple of places in Odisha. The hike on Sunday is the 31st increase in prices since 4 May, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal. In 31 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 8.06 per litre and diesel by Rs 8.37 a litre. Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15 days, and foreign exchange rates. International oil prices have climbed in recent weeks on optimism of a quick recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude soared past the $75 per barrel mark, the first time since April 2019.