Two days after increasing petrol prices, the public sector oil marketing companies announced 50 paise a litre (excluding VAT) hike diesel prices at the retail end. This price hike is effective midnight tonight.
This is the fourth increase in diesel prices during the current fiscal. With this hike diesel in Delhi is expensive by 58 paise a litre, Mumbai 62 paise a litre, Kolkata 59 paise a litre, and Chennai 61 paise a litre.
In a statement issued here, Indian Oil Corporation said that loss on sale of diesel has been steadily increasing mainly due to depreciation in rupee coupled with increasing international prices.
Even after the aforesaid increase, there shall still be an under-recovery on diesel of Rs 8.10/litre, the statement said.
In January the Government had allowed the public sector oil companies to raise retail diesel prices with a small range every month till they are able to neturalise the losses incurred by them for selling the fuel below cost.