New Delhi/Kochi: New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices on Friday rallied to their highest ever levels across the country, as fuel rates were hiked again by 35 paise a litre.
The price of petrol in Kochi rose to its highest-ever level of Rs 105.37 a litre and Rs 107.41 per litre in Thiruvananthapuram. The diesel costs Rs 99.04 and Rs 100.96 a litre in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram respectively.
In Kozhikode, the petrol now comes for Rs 105.57 a litre, while diesel costs Rs 99.26.
In the national capital, petrol and diesel prices increased by 35 paisa per litre to Rs 105.14 per litre and Rs 93.87 per litre, respectively.
In India's financial capital of Mumbai, petrol became costlier by 34 paisa per litre to Rs 111.09 a litre on Friday, the highest across all the four metro cities. Diesel also costs Rs 101.77 for one litre in Mumbai.
This is the second straight day of 35 paise per litre increase in petrol and diesel prices. There was no change in rates on October 12 and 13.
Since the ending of a three-week-long hiatus in rate revision in the last week of September, this is the 14th increase in petrol price and the 17th time that diesel rates have gone up.
While petrol price in most of the country is already above Rs 100-a-litre mark, diesel rates have crossed that level in a dozen states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka and Leh.
Prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes.
Shedding the modest price change policy, state-owned fuel retailers have since October 6 started passing on the larger incidence of cost to consumers.
This is because the international benchmark Brent crude is trading at $84.61 per barrel for the first time in seven years. A month back, Brent was trading at $73.51.
Being a net importer of oil, India prices petrol and diesel at rates equivalent to international prices.
The surge in international oil prices ended a three-week hiatus in rates on September 28 for petrol and September 24 for diesel.
Since then, diesel rates have gone up by Rs 5.25 per litre and petrol price has increased by Rs 4.25.
Before that, the petrol price was increased by Rs 11.44 a litre between May 4 and July 17. Diesel rate had gone up by Rs 9.14 during this period.
Rahul slams govt over petrol, diesel prices hike
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government over the rise in prices of petrol and diesel and accused the Centre of "tax extortion".
"There used to be stories of greedy misgovernance under which taxes were collected indiscriminately in old folk tales. At first, the people used to be unhappy but in the end the people used to end that misgovernance. In reality also, the same will happen," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi using the hashtags 'TaxExtortion' and 'FuelPrices'.
Along with his tweet, he also tagged a video collage on the rising prices of gas, diesel and petrol with his voiceover.
In the voiceover, Gandhi is heard saying that the government has earned Rs 23 lakh crore from increasing prices of gas, diesel and petrol in the last seven years, and urges the people of the country to ask where this money is going.
(With PTI inputs)
