Inflation Risks
As we move into the second half of the fiscal year, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) forecast of a 4.5 per cent average inflation rate brings some optimism.
Prices of petrol and diesel continued their northward rally on Tuesday as a rally in international oil prices took retail rates in India to new highs. This marks the eighth consecutive day when the retail prices have risen across the country.
Petrol price across the country was increased by 26-32 paise per litre and diesel by 30-35 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
This pushed retail rates, which differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT and freight charges, to their highest level.
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The hike took petrol price in Delhi to a record Rs 89.29 per litre and to a highest-ever rate of Rs 95.75 a litre in Mumbai.
Diesel rate climbed to Rs 79.70 a litre in Delhi and to Rs 86.72 in Mumbai.
In the last seven days, the price has gone up by Rs 2.36 per litre for petrol while diesel rate has risen by Rs 2.91 a litre.
In other metros like Chennai, petrol soared to Rs 91.45 and diesel to Rs 83.29 per litre.
Similarly, in the eastern city of Kolkata, petrol rose to Rs 90.54 per litre and diesel to Rs 83.29 a litre.
Premium petrol has crossed Rs 100 per litre mark in several cities of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and very close to the levels in Maharashtra.
This latest increase has followed the firming global oil prices (both product and crude) that have maintained a record streak of gains in past few days with crude reaching over $ 63.5 a barrel mark (single day gain over 2 per cent).
But experts said that fresh lockdown in various parts of the globe on new coronavirus strain may impact demand and push down prices soon. Also, Saudi Arabia unilateral production cuts may also be withdrawn post March putting downward pressure on oil prices.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week had told Parliament that the government is not considering a reduction in excise duty to cool rates from their record highs.
Central and state taxes make up for over 61 per cent of the retail selling price of petrol and about 56 per cent of diesel.
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