Petrol and Diesel Prices Rise For the First Time in Over a Month

Petrol and diesel prices across the country were raised on Thursday after 36 days. State-run oil companies namely Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum update fuel prices on a daily basis. Prices had been lowered or remained flat in the recent past until today.

Petrol price in Indian metro cities rose by 16 to 17 paise per litre to Rs 75.71 in Delhi, Rs. 83.10 in Mumbai, Rs 78.39 in Kolkata and Rs 78.57 in Chennai.

Diesel prices in the cities were raised by 10 to 12 paise per litre to Rs. 67.50 in Delhi, Rs. 71.62 in Mumbai, Rs 70.05 in Kolkata and Rs 71.24 in Chennai.

The revision of fuel price in India comes amid increasing tensions of a global shortage in crude oil supply. The OPEC (organization of petroleum exporting countries) and Russia started to withhold output in 2017 to control steep falls in crude oil prices. In their June meet, however, the OPEC agreed to raise their supply to an extent, to help sudden shortages in supply caused by a crisis in Venezuela, that had caused Brent crude to cross its $80/ barrel mark and fuel prices in India hit an all-time high in the month of May.

US' reintroduction of sanctions on Iran (one of the major crude oil suppliers to India) and disruptions in oil production in Venezuela, Libya and Canada have caused a major shortage in the recent days. The OPEC's decided production increase will reportedly not be able to compensate for the loss. Presently, the world is dependent on Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US for a major portion of the world's supply of crude oil.