CHENNAI: Two days after fuel prices were hiked for the fourth time in less than two weeks, petrol in Chennai is being sold at Rs 108.20 per litre and diesel at Rs 99.98 per litre on Wednesday (May 27), according to a Daily Thanthi report.
On Tuesday (May 26), petrol was priced at Rs Rs 108.01 per litre and diesel at Rs 99.78 per litre in the city.
Now on Wednesday, petrol prices have increased by 19 paise per litre, while diesel prices have gone up by 20 paise per litre. This marks the third consecutive price rise in the city.
The May 25 all-India rate revision marked the fourth fuel price hike this month, following increases on May 15, 19 and 23, that extended a delayed pass-through of soaring global crude oil costs triggered by the Iran conflict.
Until this month, fuel prices had largely remained unchanged since April 2022, except for a Rs 2 per litre reduction announced in March 2024 ahead of the national elections.
Why have fuel prices been increased?
Global crude oil prices had surged more than 50 per cent since late February following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
State-run retailers had delayed passing on higher input costs for weeks, a move the government said was intended to shield consumers from inflation. Opposition parties, however, accused the administration of holding back price increases until after key state elections.
The May 15 increase came after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expanded its electoral footprint by winning three of five state and UT elections, including West Bengal.
Retail fuel prices were first raised by Rs 3 per litre on May 15, followed by a 90-paise increase on May 19 and another hike on May 23, when petrol prices rose by 87 paise and diesel by 91 paise per litre. On May 25, petrol was raised by Rs 2.61 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.71. Monday's increase took cumulative hikes since May 15 to nearly Rs 7.5 per litre.
The increase varies across cities due to differences in local taxes.
(With PTI inputs)