Petrol crosses Rs 100-mark for first time in India, sales plummet

New Delhi: Petrol prices in India crossed the dreaded Rs 100-mark for the first time as fuel prices continued its upward spiral for the ninth consecutive day on Wednesday.

A litre of petrol now costs Rs 100.13 in Ganganagar, a border town in Rajasthan.

The highest diesel price was reported from Malkangiri in Odisha – Rs 91.62 per litre.

Across the towns of Kerala, petrol is sold at a little over Rs 90 and diesel costs about Rs 85.

In Delhi, petrol prices are at Rs 89.54/litre while diesel rate climbed to Rs 79.95/litre. In Mumbai, a litre of petrol costs Rs 96 while that of diesel is Rs 86.98.

Petrol has become costlier by 25 paise and diesel by 26 paise from Wednesday midnight. The price of premium petrol had crossed Rs 100 per litre in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal a few days ago.

Bearing on economy

Rising diesel and petrol prices could push up inflation, making it harder for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to continue its accommodative monetary policy.

"Pump prices of petrol and diesel have reached historical highs. An unwinding of taxes on petroleum products by both the centre and the states could ease the cost push pressures," the RBI said in its policy document earlier this month.

In the international market, crude oil prices had reached USD 63.56 per barrel on Tuesday. In India, Taxes account for about 61% of retail gasoline prices and about 56% of diesel prices.

Declining consumption

Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report, Indian state refiners' gasoline sales in the first two weeks of February fell below pre-pandemic levels, the first decline in about six months as record high retail prices hit consumption.

Diesel sales, which are related closely to economic growth and account for about 40% of overall refined fuel sales in India, fell by 8.6% in the first half of February, the largest decline since August last year, preliminary industry data showed.

State fuel retailers sold 1.03 million tonnes of gasoline and 2.84 million tonnes of diesel from February 1 to 15, the data provided by an industry source showed.

"Definitely sales of petrol and diesel have declined in the last few days. People are feeling the pinch of high oil prices," said Ajay Bansal, president of the All India Petroleum Dealers Association.

Today's prices:

Kottayam

Petrol: Rs 90.08

Diesel: Rs 84.67

Kochi

Petrol: Rs 90.08

Diesel: Rs 84.67