Petrol at the pump will be dearer by at least Rs 1.80 a litre from Friday. This is the third hike in less than six months.
The oil marketing companies announced the latest hike late on Thursday evening.
The exact price hike for users would vary as different State governments levy different levels of local taxes on petrol.
For instance, in Delhi, the hike is Rs 1.82, and the price per litre would be Rs 68.66. This is the second hike in less than two months. On September 16, petrol prices moved up by over Rs 3 a litre. The retailers — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — have the freedom to sell petrol at market price.
They sell diesel, kerosene (under the public distribution system) and domestic LPG at Government-controlled prices. As on November 1, the companies were losing Rs 9.27 a litre on diesel, Rs 26.94 a litre on kerosene, and Rs 260.50 on every domestic LPG cylinder.
The price at which Indian refiners buy crude oil stood at $106 a barrel (Rs 5,211.99 a barrel) on Monday. During the first half of the current fiscal, the oil retailers reported total under-recoveries of Rs 64,900 crore.