State fuel retailers have decided to raise petrol price by Rs 1.63 per litre, excluding state taxes, due to the lingering effect of a weak rupee and costlier crude but held out hope of a reprieve if this week’s positive trend in the currency and oil markets continue for the next fortnight.
This is the second increase this month and seventh since June. Cumulatively, petrol has become dearer by Rs 10.80 per litre, excluding state taxes, in the four-month period. Explaining the hike, the country’s largest refiner-retailer IndianOil said the average international price of MS — or motor spirit, the trade name for petrol— rose to $117.40 a barrel from $114.44, while the average dollar exchange rate deteriorated to Rs 66 in September from Rs 63.88 in the second half of August.
But, the company also said in a statement, the appreciation in the rupee during the past one week “will be passed on to consumers in the next fortnight.” The price of crude mix that state refiners buy has been hovering at $110.15 per barrel for most of this week, down from $112.26. The dollar exchange rate, too, has been range-bound in the region of Rs 63-64 during this period.
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