The new month has opened with not-so-good news for motorists in India. At the stroke of midnight, oil marketing companies (OMCs) announced a substantial price increase of Rs 3.38 a litre on petrol and Rs 2.67 a litre on diesel.

With the latest price increase, the price of petrol in Mumbai now stands at Rs 68.40 a litre, Rs 63.47 in Delhi, Rs 66.84 in Kolkata and Rs 63.02 in Chennai. A litre of diesel now costs Rs 58.48 in Mumbai, Rs 52.94 in Delhi, Rs 55.15 in Kolkata and Rs 54.43 in Chennai.

Since the last price revision on August 15, albeit a downward one, the new prices for both petrol and diesel constitute a 5% increase. The price differential between the two fuels is now Rs 9.92 a litre in Mumbai.

The retail selling prices of petrol and diesel have been reduced on four occasions in the past two months on the back of decreasing international oil prices. As a consequence, the prices in Delhi were reduced by Rs 5.56 a litre for petrol and Rs 4.92 a litre for diesel.

In its media release, Indian Oil Corporation says the hike is due to crude oil prices in the international market witnessing a steep increase by 13% (over $ 5/bbl) in the current fortnight compared to the previous fortnight, with a corresponding increase in the international prices of petroleum products.