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New Delhi: Petrol price was on Sunday hiked by 36 paise per litre while that of diesel was raised by 87 paise per litre, in line with firming global rates.

Petrol will cost Rs 61.06 per litre in Delhi from the midnight of November 15 and 16 as against Rs 60.70 a litre until now while diesel will cost Rs 46.80 instead of Rs 45.93 per litre, said Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer.

This is the first hike in the price of petrol in five months and the third in case of diesel since October.

"The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and Indian Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate warrant an increase in prices, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision," Indian Oil said in a statement here.

Petrol price was last revised upwards on July 16, when the fuel was made more expensive by 32 paise/litre. Since then, its prices have been cut on four occasions - including November 1 when the price was lowered by 50 paise.

Diesel rates were not changed on November 1 but had been hiked by 95 paise on October 16 and by 50 paise on October 1. They were on September 1 reduced by 50 paise a litre.

State-owned fuel retailers - IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) - revise petrol and diesel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month based on average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate in the previous fortnight.

"The movement of prices in the international oil market and rupee-dollar exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes," the IOC statement added.

The government earlier this month hiked excise duty on the fuels to mop up additional revenue in order to meet budgetary targets. Excise duty on petrol was raised by Rs 1.60 per litre while that on diesel was increased by 40 paise a litre. (Read more)

Excise collections from the petroleum sector stood at Rs. 33,042 crore in the first quarter of current fiscal year. The increase in excise duty on the fuels is likely to yield additional revenue of about Rs. 3,200 crore to the government during the rest of the current fiscal year.