New Delhi, Jun 21 (IANS): Fuel retailers spared consumers of a further increase in prices by keeping retail rates of petrol and diesel unchanged on Monday.
The price pause came after the rates were raised on Sunday, the tenth increase so far in the month of June.
With fuel prices remaining unchanged on Monday, petrol continues to cost Rs 97.22 per litre and diesel Rs 87.97 per litre in Delhi.
Across the country as well the petrol and diesel rates remained static on Monday but the actual retail prices varied depending on the level of local levies in respective states.
In the city of Mumbai, where petrol price crossed Rs 100-mark for the first time ever on May 29, the fuel price reached a new high of Rs 103.36 per litre on Sunday. It remained at the same level on Monday. Diesel is also priced at Rs 95.44 a litre in the city, the highest among metros.
Petrol prices have reached very close to hitting the century mark all across the country extending the scope of historic high prices that had already made the fuel rate cross the Rs 100 per litre mark in certain cities and towns of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Before Monday's price hold, fuel prices increased on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in the previous week. Petrol and diesel prices also increased on four days prior to the previous week too.
With the price pause, fuel prices have now increased for 27 days and remained unchanged for 25 days since May 1. The 26 increases have raised petrol prices by Rs 6.83 per litre in Delhi. Similarly, diesel rates have increased by Rs 7.24 per litre in the national capital.
With the global crude prices also rising on a pickup demand and depleting inventories of the world's largest fuel guzzler -- the US, retail prices of fuel in India are expected to firm up further in the coming days. The benchmark Brent crude, which reached a multi-year high level of over $ 75 on ICE or Intercontinental Exchange a couple of days back, had softened a bit to remain around $ 74 a barrel currently.