The rise fuel prices continued unabated on Saturday as both petrol and diesel prices touched fresh highs in metros like Delhi and Mumbai. While petrol saw a hike of 22 paise per litre, the price of diesel was increased by 21 paise.
With the latest increase, petrol price touched Rs 83.40 per litre in the national capital while it mounted to Rs 90.75 per litre in Mumbai.
Similarly, continuing its upward swing, the price of diesel reached Rs 74.63 per litre in Delhi and Rs 79.23 per litre in the Maharashtra capital.
Despite the prices of petrol and diesel touching record highs with continuous hikes, the government has skirted questions on whether it is considering a tax cut on imported crude to bring down the prices.
At a press conference after GST Council meeting on Friday, Union Finance Minister was asked if the government was considering any relief measure to tackle the relentless rise in fuel prices. The Finance Minister skirted the question saying, “It was not in the agenda (of the GST council meet).”
As per India's pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend upon the international fuel prices on a 15-day average and the value of the Indian rupee.
Fuel prices have been witnessing a steep rise since the past few weeks. While the Opposition has repeatedly blamed the Union government for not doing enough to keep a check on prices, the latter has always maintained that global crude oil prices and other international factors are causing a hike in prices of petroleum products.
