Petrol price on August 18: Check rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other cities

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Petrol prices remained stable for the 31st consecutive day while diesel prices fell by almost 19 to 21 paise in every major city for the first time, after holding steady for 32 days in a row on August 18. Petrol prices had touched new high levels across the country on July 17 after rising by 30 paise. On August 13, the Tamil Nadu government announced a slash on the petrol cess by Rs 3, during the state level budget session.

According to the Indian Oil Corporation, petrol prices in Delhi stood at Rs 101.84 per litre and diesel at Rs 89.67 per litre. In Mumbai, a litre of petrol and diesel will cost Rs 107.83 and Rs 97.24. Currently, fuel prices are highest in Mumbai among all metro cities.

The fuel prices remain unchanged in Kolkata, where a litre of petrol and diesel prices were Rs 102.08 and 92.82, respectively.

The revision on 17 July had added up to Rs 11.15 for petrol since May. The hike on July 17 was the 41st price hike in petrol since May 4 when fuel rates started increasing after the West Bengal elections. The prices were hiked 16 times in June and 9 times in July.

Fuel prices in top-10 cities 

Tamil Nadu government to bear the loss of the tax revenue

Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan (PTR) announced that cess on petrol will be slashed by Rs 3 and it would help in bringing down the skyrocketing prices. Thiagarajan added that this was done as per the instructions of chief minister MK Stalin and this reduction in cess will cost the state treasury close to Rs 1,160 crore. Petrol prices have been hiked for 41 days in the current fiscal. The price per litre of petrol has breached the Rs 100 mark in all metros across the country.

Fuel price above Rs 100 mark

Petrol prices have already crossed the Rs 100-mark in more than 20 states and union territories – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Manipur, Ladakh, Bihar, Punjab and others. Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan has the costliest petrol and diesel in the country with petrol selling at Rs 113.21 and diesel at 103.15 per litre.

Price changes due to these factors

In India, petrol and diesel prices depend on various factors like valuation of  Indian Rupee(INR) against US Dollar(USD), consumption ratio of refineries and demand for fuel. The fuel prices are revised by oil marketing companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum based on international crude prices and foreign exchange rates. Petrol and diesel prices get revised in India every day at 6 am.

Prices differ due to differences in taxes

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.  Central and state taxes make up for 60% of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54% of diesel. The union government levies Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh.