Indian oil marketing companies broke their three-day pause of automobile fuel price hike on Tuesday, taking the rates to fresh highs on the back of a surge in global crude price.

Brent crude oil price on Monday rose above $60 per barrel for the first time in more than a year on improving demand outlook amid the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

On Tuesday, petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre each, as per the price notifications of state-owned fuel retailers.

In India, rates have risen by Rs 3.59 per litre in case of petrol and by Rs 3.61 on diesel in 2021.

With this latest surge, diesel prices in the national capital has increased to Rs 77.48 a litre in Delhi while petrol prices have surged to a new high level of Rs 87.30 a litre.

Across the country as well the fuel prices increased by over 30 paise per litre with actual rise varying state to state depending on the level of local taxes on the two petroleum products.

In major cities like Chennai Kolkata and Mumbai petrol was at Rs 89.70 a litre, Rs 88.63 per litre and Rs 93.83 a litre respectively.

Similarly diesel prices in Chennai was at Rs 82.66 a litre, Rs 81.06 per litre in Kolkata and Rs 84.36 in Mumbai.

Last week, Mukesh Kumar Surana, head of India’s third-largest fuel retailer Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), said that a sudden spike in international oil prices because of a perception of mismatch in demand and supply as well as a cut in production by Saudi was fuelling the retail price hikes.

He had said that only 25-30 per cent of the retail pump rates are dependent on cost and the rest are central and state taxes.

“We probably have no choice but to pass on the variation (in benchmark cost) to the consumer,” he had said. “The government has taxation handle.”

Also last week, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question that excise duty levied by the central government makes up for Rs 32.98 per litre of the price of petrol in Delhi and sales tax or VAT of the state government constitutes Rs 19.55.

For diesel, the central excise adds up to Rs 31.83 and VAT to Rs 10.99, he had said.

Besides, the price includes a dealer commission of a minimum Rs 2.6 per litre on petrol and Rs 2 on diesel.

Retail petrol rates have risen by Rs 17.71 per litre since mid-March 2020 after the government raised taxes by a record margin to mop up gains arising from fall in international oil prices. Diesel rates have gone up by Rs 15.19.