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In what can be called a minuscule sigh of relief in these testing times, petrol and diesel prices were not revised for the fourth consecutive day. The month of July has seen around nine revisions in the prices of petrol in the last 20 days, while diesel prices saw six revisions. There are a set of national as well as international factors that determine the final selling price of fuel. Charges for processing the crude oil, Central excise duty, Commission of the petrol pump dealers and VAT by the state governments determine the price of the petrol and diesel in India. VAT or sales tax differs from state to state across India.
The prices of refined fuel like petrol and diesel also depend on the per barrel cost of crude oil. As on July 20, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil was $68.63.
Fuel prices in metro cities
Prices of fuel have seen a hike of close to Rs 11 over the past two months. The price of petrol in India’s financial capital Mumbai is nearing Rs 108/litre, while diesel is closer to Rs 100/litre mark. Kolkata is in the second spot in terms of most expensive fuel, with a litre of petrol touching the Rs 102.49 mark and diesel at Rs 93.02 /litre. Motorists in the national capital of Delhi are shelling out Rs 101.84 and Rs 89.87 respectively for a litre of petrol and diesel. In Chennai, a litre of petrol costs Rs 102.49, while the same quantity of diesel costs Rs 94.39. In India’s start-up capital Bengaluru, petrol is being sold at Rs 105.25/litre, while diesel at Rs 95.26/litre.
Fuel prices in neighbouring countries
The story is a bit different when it comes to fuel price in India’s neighbouring countries as the average citizen shells out less money than an Indian. In Pakistan, a litre of petrol is sold at PKR 118 (around Rs 54) while a litre of diesel costs PKR 116 .A litre of petrol and diesel in Bangladesh costs 89 and 65 BDT respectively. In Afghanistan, a litre of petrol costs AFN 57 and diesel and in Sri Lanka, petrol costs LKR 184 and diesel costs LKR 111 per litre.