Rise in Petrol & Diesel prices during lock down

What our Oil minister had to say about rise in petrol & diesel ?

Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended the increases in fuel prices in recent weeks amid a nationwide protest by the Congress over the issue on Monday. Pradhan said the national as well as global economy was going through a challenging time and that it had impacted the demand and supply of fuel across the world.

“Due to lockdown there was 70 per cent reduction in demand for petrol and diesel in April and May. With resumed economic activity, demand is coming back towards normal,” said Pradhan. “In such a scenario, the recent increase in petrol and diesel prices has not impacted the common man. When a problem comes in a family, the person carefully manages the finances to meet the future challenges. The hike in fuel price should be seen like this.”

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Petrol, Diesel Price Yesterday :

June 29,2020

 After a single-day-halt in the increase of crude oil prices, petrol and diesel rates in Delhi have hiked again on Monday. In the national capital, petrol is now retailing at Rs 80.43 per litre, inching closer to a record hike, while diesel at Rs 80.53 per litre, increased of Rs 0.05 and Rs 0.13 respectively.

The highest petrol price recorded earlier in Delhi was on October 4, 2018 at Rs 84 per litre. Meanwhile, diesel prices have surpassed the previous peak on October 16 that year, when it climbed to Rs 75.69 a litre

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The reason petrol and diesel prices are rising is because the government revenue from other sources have plummeted due to coronavirus lockdown in recent months. Petrol prices have gone up by Rs 6.55 and diesel prices by Rs 7.04 (prices in New Delhi) since 7 June.Jun 18, 2020

The exercise duty on branded petrol is Rs 44.16 a litre while on branded high speed diesel it is Rs 34.19 a litre. Apart from excise duty, state VAT and customs duties are also levied on petroleum products.

Low crude oil prices have been beneficial for the government as despite 70% drop in crude prices, retail petrol and diesel prices saw marginal drop of 10% between 1 January and 4 May. 

Afterwards, the prices started going up, and in the past 12 days petrol and diesels prices have continuously risen since crude prices (Indian basket) have doubled to $40 a barrel from first week of May.

Thank you for spending your precious time reading this post. 

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