Fuel prices on Tuesday were hiked for the eight-day in a row as a rally in international oil prices took retail rates in India to new highs. Petrol and diesel prices were increased by 29-38 paise per litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

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This pushed retail rates, which differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT and freight charges, to their highest level. The hike took petrol price in Delhi to a record Rs 89.29 per litre and to a highest-ever rate of Rs 95.75 a litre in Mumbai.

Diesel rate climbed to Rs 79.70 a litre in Delhi and to Rs 86.72 in Mumbai.

Central and state taxes make up for over 61 percent of the retail selling price of petrol and about 56 per cent of diesel. The union government levies Rs 32.9 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs Rs 31.80 a litre on diesel, as per PTI report.

The prices of petrol and diesel are reviewed by oil marketing companies such as state-run Indian Oil on a daily basis and any revision is implemented from 6 am in the morning. These rates move in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates.

Globally, oil prices rose on Tuesday as a cold front shut wells and refineries in Texas, the biggest crude producing state in the United States, the world’s biggest oil producer. Prices also gained as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it struck airports in Saudi Arabia with drones, raising supply concerns in the world’s biggest oil exporter, and on optimism for a global economic recovery amid accelerated COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, as per news agency Reuters report.