Oil companies tend to be moving toward a revised fuel value revision mechanism, since gas and fuel prices are increasingly fixed every other day rather than changing daily.

Pump prices for gasoline and diesel have been updated every other day for the past few days, as per the ongoing trend but the finding has not aided consumers, as rates have only increased under the same old system.

Oil companies kept the retail price of gasoline and diesel unchanged on Monday. So, in Delhi, petrol costs Rs 92.58 per litre and diesel costs Rs 83.22 per litre, both unchanged from the previous day. Even on Monday, petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across the country, but actual retail prices differed depending on the number of local levies in different states.

After increasing gas and diesel prices by 24 and 27 paise per litre, respectively, on Sunday, the price freeze came on Monday. On Sabbatum, there was no worth revision before Sunday. Similarly, although fuel prices increased on a weekday, they remained unchanged the day before.

"It appears that oil companies are providing relief to consumers by not raising fuel prices regularly. However, prices aren't indeed dropping, as they've been lifted on an alternate day this month as well. "Associate in Nursing with experience in the oil sector who does not want to be identified.

India Petrol fuel consumption petrol station fuel station
Indians were hit by a price hike in petrol, diesel and non-subsidised cooking gas cylinders effective from Tuesday. It coincided with the imposition of farm welfare cess of 0.50 percent on a range of services. In Picture: Motorcyclists crowd a fuel station to fill up on petrol in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad May 23, 2012 (Representational image).Reuters file

Oil companies revised gas and diesel costs every morning under daily value adjustment, benchmarking retail fuel costs to a 15-day rolling average of world refined oil prices and the greenback rate. However, in a market where fuel prices are forced to be exaggerated, alternate day value revision appears to be the flavour of the day.

Reaches Rs.100-mark in many cities

It is worth noting that, following a 9 paise increase in May, the retail price of standard gas in Mumbai has already risen to near Rs 99 per litre. In several cities in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and the surrounding area, gas prices have surpassed Rs 100 per litre. Premium gasoline has been floating about that amount for a while now.

Petrol prices have risen by Rs 2.03 per litre in Old Delhi since the beginning of the year. Similarly, diesel prices in the capital have been increased by Rs 2.49 per litre this month.

It was expected that the oil companies might begin raising the retail price of gas and diesel after state elections, after suffering losses of Rs 2-3 per litre from maintaining the price line amid higher world crude and merchandise costs. With world oil prices hovering about $69 per barrel, oil companies will have to revise fuel costs higher if there is more firming.

(With inputs from IANS)

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