Petrol breaches Rs 91 in many Maharashtra districts, prices up in other metro cities too

The petrol and diesel are touching new heights every day. Not only major cities like Delhi and Mumbai but state capitals like Patna are seeing fuel prices breaching the Rs 91 per litre mark. As per Indian Oil's daily pricing list for Tuesday, petrol has reached over Rs 91 in several districts of Maharashtra, with state capital Mumbai witnessing few paise jump to Rs 90.22 per litre.

Diesel has been priced Rs 78.69 in Mumbai, compared to Rs 78.58 per litre on Monday. In Delhi, petrol is being sold at Rs 82.86 per litre, while diesel has reached Rs 74.12 per litre.

As the Centre refuses to reduce excise duty on fuel, petrol has increased by Rs 4.04 since September 1, while diesel prices have jumped by Rs 3.60. The Centre currently levies a total excise duty of Rs 19.48 per litre on petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel, while VAT varies amongst states.

Despite a continuous rise in fuel prices, Delhi has the cheapest fuel rates among all metros. States like Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Karnataka have cut taxes on fuel to reduce the burden. Fuel prices are the highest in Maharashtra, which charges maximum sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT).

The Centre government seems concerned over the falling value of rupee and increasing fuel prices as crude oil prices rise significantly. Brent crude oil has crossed $81 per barrel for the first time in the past four years. Reports suggest the government may soon announce import curbs on several non-essential items. Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government may relax norms for raising overseas borrowing and impose restrictions on the non-essential imports as part of efforts to check rising current account deficit (CAD) and a falling rupee.

Brent crude oil prices breached the $81 mark due to the tightening oil market and OPEC leaders signalling they won't raise the output. On Tuesday, Brent crude price was trading at $81.44 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was at Rs 72.26 per barrel.

Edited by Manoj Sharma