Petrol hits new all-time high of Rs 91.56 per litre in Mumbai

The price of petrol per litre in Mumbai today – at Rs 91.56 – has gone past the previous all-time high of Rs 91.34 a litre that was recorded on October 4, 2018. Diesel too has not been spared and is priced today at a record Rs 81.87 a litre. In the national capital the price of petrol stood at Rs 84.95 per litre with diesel costing Rs 75.13 per litre.

• Petrol prices hiked by 24 paise per litre
• Petrol, diesel prices in Delhi stand at Rs 84.95 and Rs 75.13 per litre, respectively
• Prices hiked by 73 paise and 80 paise per litre for petrol and diesel respectively in last 12 days

The first fossil fuel price rises in 2021 happened on January 6-7, followed by five days of ‘rest’ – no revision of prices – and two days of increase on January 13-14. On January 14, petrol price was hiked to Rs 91.32, just 2 paise shy of the October 4, 2014, record high. That has been breached by today's hike of 24 paise a litre.

Petrol and diesel prices as on January 18, 2021
City	Petrol price (per litre)	Diesel price (per litre)
Mumbai	Rs 91.56	Rs 81.87
Delhi	Rs 84.95	Rs 75.13
Kolkata	Rs 86.39	Rs 78.72
Chennai	Rs 87.63	Rs 80.43

Over the past 12 days, petrol price has risen by 73 paise a litre and that of diesel by 80 paise a litre. The price difference between the two fuels is now Rs 9.69 a litre. 

For most of December 2020, there were scarcely any price hikes in fossil fuels and there was a 27-day relief for motorists as oil marketing companies kept petrol and diesel prices unchanged. There has been a speedy rise in crude oil prices and Brent crude is today trading at USD 55.42 a barrel, down USD 1.77 from January 14’s  USD 57.19 a barrel.

Around end-November 2020, a barrel of crude was USD 44.48, more than twice the two-decade low when prices had dived to under USD 20 a barrel in April 2020. However, the Indian motorist never got the benefit of lower prices even when global crude oil prices had plunged. Now, with global oil prices firming, expect a regular rise.

Like the stock markets, crude oil prices react to a number of variables, including supply and demand, economic news and crises like COVID-19. As countries lift lockdowns and return to manufacturing operations, the need for transport operations, particularly as nations race to deliver critical COVID-19 vaccine, the demand for crude oil has risen and resultantly the price.

Also see:

Indian Oil to expand high octane petrol availability

Petrol prices 2 paise short of all-time high at Rs 91.32 a litre in Mumbai

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