Petrol price hits new high; Rs 77.47/litre in New Delhi, Rs 85.29/litre in Mumbai

Express Web Desk

Petrol, diesel price hike LIVE: The Finance Ministry — wary of slipping on fiscal deficit targets — is reluctant to take a hit on excise duty levied on petrol and diesel.

New Delhi, 24 May 2018: Rising fuel prices have set off a political firestorm in the past few days as petrol and diesel rates have skyrocketed. On Thursday, petrol price touched Rs 85.29 per litre in Mumbai, while in Delhi the price inched higher to a new record of Rs 77.47 per litre. Similarly, the diesel rates have also touched a high of Rs 68.53 and Rs 72.96 per litre in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.

 

Amid mounting pressure from the Opposition parties on the relentless fuel price hike, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said subsidising petrol and diesel to bring down their rising retail prices will take money away from social welfare schemes of the government and that increase in oil prices is “unavoidable” since India is now linked to the global economy. “This is an unavoidable, economic situation. It is directly linked to the global economy. If we have to sell it (petrol/diesel) cheap, it means we will have to buy it at higher prices and subsidise it here,”