Explained: Why petrol and diesel prices were hiked after a 4.5 month hiatus

After a hike of Rs 25 per litre in diesel prices for bulk buyers, the government on Tuesday raised petrol and diesel prices by 80 paise a litre each, while domestic cooking gas (LPG) prices were increased by Rs 50 per cylinder, after a freeze of 137 days. Retail prices of petrol and diesel had been unchanged since October 2021 when crude oil prices were hovering around $80 a barrel.
A litre of petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 96.21 and diesel will be sold at Rs 87.47 per litre. A 14.2-kg non-subsidised LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 949.50 in the national capital. The cooking gas costs were last revised in October.
The prices at the pump rose for the first time since November 4 when the central government cut excise duty and several states followed suit with a reduction in value-added tax to ease the burden on consumers.