Diesel gets costlier by 50 paise a litre, petrol by 75 paise; LPG price cut

Oil companies on Friday hiked the price of petrol by 75 paise per litre, without taxes. The price of diesel was also raised by 50 paise a litre. Oil firms also cut the price of non-subsidised LPG by Rs. 45 per cylinder. The revised prices will take effect from Saturday. The hike comes after the highest cut in the price of petrol in over five years by Rs. 3, a month ago. Also, this is the fifth hike in the price of diesel since January when the government permitted state-run oil companies to hike the price of the fuel by 45-50 paise per litre per month till the losses incurred on the sale of the fuel below market rates are wiped out. After the revision, petrol prices in four major cities stand as follows: Delhi- 63.99 per litre; Kolkata- Rs. 71.29; Mumbai- Rs. 70.68; Chennai- Rs.66.85. Also diesel prices stand as follows: Delhi- Rs. 50.25 per litre; Kolkata-Rs. 54.56; Mumbai- Rs. 56.66; Chennai- Rs. 53.53. Non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) will cost Rs. 802 per 14.2-kg cylinder after this revision. Its price has been cut twice before since April. The fall in rupee against the US dollar, puts pressure on oil companies that buy crude in the American currency. The rupee on Friday ended at 56.49 against Thursday's close of 56.38/39. It had earlier hit 56.76, its lowest since June 28, 2012, to the dollar on Friday. Oil companies have cut petrol prices four times since March, before this hike. Oil firms review the price of petrol every two weeks. While petrol price has been deregulated since June 2010 and the price is market determined, the government still controls the price of diesel, and allows only minor revisions. Source: NDTV