Amid a spike in international oil prices, Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price on Tuesday witnessed record levels hike across the country following a steep 8.5% increase in fuel prices.
This is the third time the price has been hiked in a month, petrol and diesel prices stayed unaffected for a record 88th day in a row.
ATF price was hiked by ₹6,743.25 per kilolitre or 8.5 percent to ₹86,038.16 per kl in the national capital, according to a price report of state-owned fuel retailers.
This is the highest ever price touched by ATF. The rate is higher than ₹71,028.26 per kg achieved in August 2008 when international crude oil prices touched USD 147 per barrel. Brent crude oil on Tuesday was selling at USD 91.21 per barrel.
The price growth will put stress on the already strained balance sheets of airlines. Tuesday’s price hike is the third growth in a month. Rates were hiked by ₹2,039.63 per kl or 2.75 percent to ₹76,062.04 per kl on January 1 and then also by ₹3,232.87 per kl or 4.25 percent to ₹79,294.91 per kl on January 16.
Petrol and diesel rates
These growths in the rate reached on the back of two rounds of price cuts seen in December that reflected a decline in international oil prices during the second half of November and mid-December.
Thereafter, international rates have firmed up, leading to the hike in ATF prices. ATF price had last peaked at ₹80,835.04 per kl in mid-November 2021 before it was cut on December 1 and 15 by a sum of ₹6,812.25 per kl or 8.4 percent. Jet fuel prices are revised on the 1st and 16th of every month based on the average price of the international benchmark in the preceding fortnight.
Unlike ATF, petrol and diesel rates are revised day-to-day after taking the average price in the preceding fortnight. But costs have remained unchanged since November 4, 2021, when the central government had cut excise duty on petrol by ₹5 per liter and that on diesel by ₹10 a liter.
This is despite a wild swing in international oil prices
Brent crude oil, the best-known international benchmark, was at USD 82.74 per barrel on November 5, 2021, before it began to fall and touch USD 68.87 a barrel on December 1.
Costs have climbed since and are now around USD 91, well past the peak of USD 86.40 touched on October 26, 2021, which had led to petrol and diesel prices spiking to an all-time high. Petrol prices ₹95.41 a liter in Delhi and diesel is priced at ₹86.67, cost statement from state fuel dealers showed.
Before the excise duty cut, petrol and diesel costs had touched an all-time high across the country. While petrol had crossed the ₹100 a litre mark in most cities, diesel was above that level in almost half the country.
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In Delhi, petrol reached ₹110.04 a litre and diesel for ₹98.42. Prices had eased from an all-time high on November 4, 2021, after the Union government had cut excise duty on petrol by ₹5 per liter and diesel by ₹10 a liter.
States also cut local sales tax or VAT on the two fuels — BJP-ruled states on the exact day and some others at differing dates thereafter. But other than these two, the base rates have stayed unaffected.
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Source: Mint
