Fuel rates at record high: Why petrol, diesel prices are surging

As the fuel prices are sky-rocketing, the government has said that it is looking at various ways to keep the rates in check. "The Centre is sensitive towards the rising fuel prices. Various alternatives are being explored. I hope something will work out soon," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters in Bhubaneswar.

Prices at the pump have surged on the back of rallying international markets for crude oil, which last week hit their strongest since late-2014 amid ongoing production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

India is particularly at risk from stronger global prices for crude oil as it is the third biggest importer of the commodity, buying about 80 per cent of its oil needs.

With rising crude prices and a depreciating rupee, petroleum is bound to get more expensive. Diesel had already reached its all-time high and petrol too, at Rs 76.24 per litre in Delhi, hit a new high on Sunday, breaking its September 2013 record. TOI analyses petrol prices:

In the last 16 years petrol, reached the highest price of Rs 76.06 per litre in Delhi on September 14, 2013. The next four highest prices were reached in May 2018 + . The present price of diesel, on the other hand, is the highest ever in this 16-year period.