A worker fills petrol for two wheelers at a; fuel station in Ahmedabad. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran) Prices of petrol and diesel continued to rally for the tenth consecutive day and touch new highs across the country on Thursday, February 18, 2021. After Rajasthan, the retail price of regular petrol hit the three-figure mark in Madhya Pradesh.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Anuppur, petrol today is priced at Rs 100.25 per litre and diesel at Rs 90.69, data available on Indian Oil Corporation’s website showed.
In the national capital, petrol price was hiked by 34 paise per litre and diesel got dearer by 32 paise to breach the Rs 80 per litre mark. Following the latest price hike, diesel in the national capital is now retailing at Rs 80.27 a litre while petrol is selling at Rs 89.88. In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol price now stands at Rs 96.32 while diesel costs Rs 87.32.
In Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, petrol climbed to Rs 100.49 and diesel soared to Rs 92.47 per litre. Petrol had hit the Rs 100/litre-mark on Wednesday. It is the highest retail price of the key auto fuel across the country.
Prices of petrol and diesel vary from state to state as taxes are levied on them by both central as well as the state governments along with freight charges.
Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh levies 33 per cent plus Rs 4.5 a litre and 1 per cent cess on petrol. On diesel, it charges 23 per cent plus Rs 3 per litre and 1 per cent cess, news agency PTI reported earlier in the day.
On Wednesday, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan called on oil-exporting countries to ease production cuts, which have been contributing to rising international crude oil prices.
The minister had last week told Parliament that the government is not considering a reduction in excise duty to cool rates from their record highs.
The auto fuel prices are revised on a daily basis in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates.
The price of India’s crude oil basket, which comprises of Oman-Dubai sour grade and dated Brent sweet crude, rose 55 cents to $63.19 a barrel on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, as per the data released by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) today.
Globally, oil prices rose as much as a dollar on Thursday, extending this week’s gains and hitting 13-month highs, as a cold snap sweeping Texas and surrounding regions shut at least a fifth of US refining output and a million barrels of crude production, news agency Reuters said in a report earlier in the day.
Brent crude climbed 93 cents (1.5 per cent) to $65.27 a barrel by 0219 GMT, touching its highest since Jan. 20, 2020. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 76 cents (1.2 per cent) to $61.90 a barrel, registering its highest since Jan. 8, 2020. Both benchmarks rose about $1 on Wednesday and have gained more than 6 per cent since their close last Thursday, the report said.
Here’s what you pay for a litre of petrol and diesel in your city on Thursday, February 18, 2021:
| City | Petrol (Rs/litre) | Diesel (Rs/litre) |
| Sri Ganganagar | 100.49 | 92.47 |
| Anuppur | 100.25 | 90.69 |
| New Delhi | 89.88 | 80.27 |
| Mumbai | 96.32 | 87.32 |
| Kolkata | 91.11 | 83.86 |
| Chennai | 91.98 | 85.31 |
| Bengaluru | 92.89 | 85.09 |
| Hyderabad | 93.45 | 87.55 |
| Patna | 92.24 | 85.50 |
| Jaipur | 96.37 | 88.69 |
| Lucknow | 88.32 | 80.65 |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 91.76 | 86.27 |
| Source: Indian Oil Corporation | ||
