Karnataka Govt cuts fuel cost by ₹2 as fuel price hike continues

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy announced in Kalaburgi on Monday, September 17 that the Karnataka government would cut ₹2 per litre on petrol and diesel as fuel prices rose once again on Monday, continuing a recent trend of nearly-daily hikes.

Among the four metro cities, petrol is the most expensive in Mumbai where the premium fuel costs ₹89.44 per litre, nearing the psychological ₹90 per litre mark. In Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai petrol was at ₹82.06 per litre, ₹83.91 per litre and ₹85.31 per litre, respectively. This marks a hike of around 15 paise compared to Sunday's fuel prices.

On the other hand, diesel prices were ₹73.78 per litre (Delhi), ₹75.63 per litre (Chennai), ₹78.00 per litre (Kolkata), and ₹78.33/litre (Mumbai). Diesel rates rose by around six paise compared to Sunday’s rates.

Fuel prices in the country have been going up almost daily since August 1. They fell only once on August 13 and have been on record levels for nearly two weeks now. This has been a cause of rising concern for the Modi government at the Centre.

The government has been blaming global factors for the rise in the fuel prices and has been saying that the rise in the rupee should not be seen in isolation.

Experts say a weak rupee and high excise duty are major factors for the rise in fuel prices. Inflationary risks along with broadly negative global cues depressed the Indian rupee to a new low of 72.74 to the dollar on Tuesday.

Since the start of the calendar year, the petrol price in Delhi has gone up by 15.4% from ₹69.97 on January 1, 2018. The hike in diesel price has been even more steep. It has gone up by 22% since January 1 when it cost ₹59.70.

As per the country's pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend upon the international fuel prices on a 15-day average and the value of the rupee.

With IANS inputs