The Union Government on Friday increased the prices of diesel for industrial use and high-grade petrol, reflecting the rising cost of crude oil as the conflict in West Asia expands. At a media briefing, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, clarified there is no increase in prices of normal petrol and diesel.
Pricing decisions, she said, are taken by oil companies independently as petrol and diesel pricing was deregulated in 2010 and 2014 respectively. “It (pricing) is decided by oil marketing companies. Government does not regulate petrol and diesel prices,” she added.
The price of premium petrol price was increased by INR 2 per litre while the rate of bulk diesel sold to industrial users was hiked by about INR 22 a litre. The move comes even as the rupee crashed 82 paise, or nearly 1 per cent, to settle at an all-time low of 93.71 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday. International oil prices touched $119 per barrel on Thursday, before pulling back to around $108 a barrel.