Petrol crosses Rs 97 in Delhi, diesel nears Rs 88 after 27th price hike since 4 May

New Delhi: Petrol price in the national capital crossed Rs 97 a litre and diesel neared Rs 88 after fuel prices were raised yet again. Petrol price was hiked by 29 paise per litre and diesel by 28 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The hike — 27th in seven weeks —pushed fuel prices across the country to new historic highs. In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 97.22 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 87.97 per litre. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. And because of this, petrol retails at over Rs 100 per litre mark in eight states and Union Territories — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Among the metros, petrol is already above Rs 100 in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 103.36 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 95.44. Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan near the India-Pakistan border was the first place in the country to see petrol hitting Rs 100 a litre mark in mid-February and earlier this month it also earned the distinction of diesel crossing that psychological mark. Petrol in the city is sold at Rs 108.37 a litre - the highest rate in the country, and diesel comes for Rs 101.12. Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The hike on Sunday was the 27th increase in prices since 4 May, when state-owned oil firms ended a 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during Assembly elections in states like West Bengal. In 27 hikes, petrol price has risen by Rs 6.82 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.24 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 firmed up in recent weeks in anticipation of demand recovery following the rollout of vaccination programme by various countries. Also, the rupee has weakened against the US dollar, making imports costlier.