New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices shot up once again today by around 50 paise to reach fresh record high levels. The hike of 48 paisa a litre for petrol and 47 paise for diesel is the steepest increase since the daily price revision came into effect over 14 months back. Propelled by a rise in global crude oil prices and a weakening rupee, the price of petrol in Delhi is now touching ₹ 80 while diesel has crossed the ₹ 72 mark.

In Mumbai, a litre of petrol costs ₹ 87.39 while diesel costs 76.51. In Delhi, petrol costs ₹ 79.99 and diesel ₹ 72.07. In Bengaluru, petrol price is ₹ 82.6 and diesel is ₹ 74.39. In Hyderabad, petrol costs ₹ 84.81 and diesel ₹ 78.39. In Chennai, petrol costs ₹ 83.13 and diesel ₹ 76.16. In Kolkata, petrol costs ₹ 82.88 and diesel ₹ 74.92.

Petrol and diesel prices are revised daily by state-run oil firms at 6 am.

Over fears of stoking inflationary pressure, the issue of fuel prices has now started to gain traction in political circles with the Congress announcing aBharat Bandh on September 10.

The Congress has also appealed to other political parties and civil society groups to join its nationwide protest against rising fuel prices. The Congress is asking the Narendra Modi government to cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel and bring the fuels into the ambit of goods and services tax (GST) so that a uniform rate is prevalent across India.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said excise duty on petrol since May 2014 had been increased by 211% while the duty on diesel since May 2014 had been increased by 443%.

Since August 15, petrol prices have increased by ₹ 2.85 a litre, while diesel prices have been increased by ₹ 3.35 a litre. Since 1 January 2018, petrol prices are up by about 14% while diesel is up a fifth.

Global crude oil prices continue to be under pressure as international Brent crude futures dipped 8 cents to $76.42 a barrel. The exchange rate of rupee is making things worse for India as it is a net importer of crude oil. The rupee, hovering around ₹ 72 now and has lost more than 11% to the dollar this year.

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