For the first time, diesel costlier than petrol in Delhi as price hiked for 18th straight day

For the first time in Delhi, diesel has become costlier than petrol as state-run oil companies raised price of diesel for the 18th day in a row on Wednesday (June 24).

 In Delhi, diesel is now selling at Rs 79.88 per litre, while the price of one litre petrol is now Rs 79.76. Disel price was increased by 48 paise a litre on Wednesday while the petrol price remain unchanged. 

Notably, the prices of diesel and petrol are also rising in other states but diesel will still continue to be cheaper than petrol due to lower taxes levied by other states but it is expected that the gap between the prices will shrink further.

On June 7, state-run oil companies restarted revising petrol and diesel prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision. The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of fall in international oil prices to two decade low.