Petrol, Diesel Prices Unchanged; Oil Prices Hover Near 1-Year High

Fuel prices were unchanged by state-owned marketing companies on Wednesday after having touched new all-time highs the previous day.

Petrol prices per litre remained at Rs 90.93 in New Delhi, Rs 91.12 in Kolkata, Rs 97.34 in Mumbai and Rs 92.90 in Chennai.

Diesel prices per litre were stagnant at Rs 81.32 in New Delhi, Rs 84.20 in Kolkata, Rs 88.44 in Mumbai and Rs 86.31 in Chennai.

These rates are revised on a daily basis by oil marketing companies in line with changes in the international prices and the rupee's exchange rate.

Since January, global crude oil prices have been rallying after many countries started the COVID-19 vaccine drive.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, was up 18 cents or 0.28% to $65.42 a barrel on Tuesday, which is close to its highest level since January 2020. The increase was mainly on account of signs that global coronavirus restrictions were being eased although concerns about the pace of a U.S. economic recovery kept gains in check.

The recent rise in oil prices is also buoyed by upbeat price forecasts from American brokerage houses. Goldman Sachs expects Brent prices to reach $70 per barrel in the second quarter of 2021 from the $60 it predicted previously, and $75 in the third quarter from the $65 forecast earlier.

In India, however, the difference in retail prices of fuel across states is due to local, state and central government taxes on petrol and diesel. A large percentage, that is up to 60%, of the retail price on petrol or diesel price paid by consumers in the country is just a form of central, state or local tax.