The prices of petrol and diesel remained constant on Monday, May 18, after the Centre announced a hike of Rs 3 per litre last week. Citizens are expecting a second round of hikes in the fuel prices after the rally in global oil prices continued due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Oil company executives indicated that petrol and diesel prices could rise further, though any decision will depend on government approval, as well as the timing and scale of the hike.
The rising crude oil prices are putting pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves, given that India imports 85-90 per cent of its crude oil. The petrol and diesel prices were hiked owing to the financial losses public sector oil marketing companies were having.
Petrol, Diesel prices today
After the hike last week, petrol is now retailing at Rs 97.7 per litre in Delhi. The rates for Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai are Rs 106.68, Rs 108.74, and Rs 103.67, respectively. Diesel in Delhi costs Rs 90.67, while in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai it costs Rs 93.14, Rs 95.13 and Rs 95.25 respectively. The rates vary across cities depending on the state level taxes, value-added taxes. Petrol and diesel do not come under GST so the tax rates are not uniform across the country.
| City | Petrol Price (per litre) | Diesel Price (per litre) |
| Bengaluru | Rs 105.90 | Rs 91.99 |
| Hyderabad | Rs 110.45 | Rs 98.63 |
| Ahmedabad | Rs 97.48 | Rs 93.14 |
Hyderabad recorded the highest petrol rate in the country. Petrol there was priced at Rs 110.89 per litre on May 15, following an increase of Rs 3.39 per litre. Thiruvananthapuram was close behind, where petrol rates stood at Rs 110.75 per litre. On the other hand, Chandigarh had the lowest petrol price among the listed cities at Rs 97.27 per litre and diesel is retailing at Rs 85.25 per litre
Rise in global oil prices sparks concern
Oil prices rose for the third consecutive session after US President Donald Trump renewed pressure on Iran to agree to a deal that could help end weeks of conflict and reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rose above $110 per barrel after gaining nearly 8% last week, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) moved close to $107 a barrel.
The latest surge extends a sharp rally in global oil markets, with crude prices jumping more than 50% since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump intensified his warning to Iran, saying, “For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get moving fast, or there won't be anything left of them. Time is of the essence.”
