Fuel prices: Petrol in Mumbai costs twice as much as in New York

• Fuel prices in the financial capital have gone up by 11 percent in 2021 and was at Rs 100.72 a litre

• The rise in petrol prices comes as the sale of petrol and gas at the three state-run OMCs declined by a fifth in May

New Delhi/ Vivek Shukla: Breaching the Rs 100-a-litre mark for the first time ever, petrol prices in Mumbai are among the costliest in the country and twice as much as in New York, said Bloomberg in a report on Tuesday. Fuel prices in the financial capital have gone up by 11 percent in 2021 and was at Rs 100.72 a litre on Tuesday. The report said that the equivalent price of petrol is $0.79 in New York, according to calculations based on figures from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Govt's levies make 60% of petrol prices

In the backdrop of a financial crunch induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Narendra Modi government has repeatedly raised sales taxes to cushion public finances. Taxes make up around 60 percent of the retail price and taxes on gasoline and diesel have surged around six times since 2013. At a recent media interaction, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd's (BPCL) Director (Finance) N Vijayagopal had said that petrol and diesel prices will continue to rise until the government reduces the taxes. "Unless that happens, we have no choice but to increase the retail selling prices," he had said. BPCL is one of three major state-run oil marketing companies in India.

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The backdrop

The rise in petrol prices comes as the sale of petrol and gas at the three state-run OMCs — Indian Oil, BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — declined by a fifth in May in the wake of movement restrictions and curfews imposed by state governments. According to data compiled by the three OMCs, daily petrol sale fell by about 19 percent in May month-on-month, while diesel demand, which is an indicator of industrial activity, dropped by 19.9 percent.

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