Oil companies on Saturday hiked petrol price by Rs 1.34 a litre and that of diesel by Rs 2.37 a litre, reported PTI. After including local value-added tax, petrol now costs Rs 66.05 a litre in Delhi and diesel is Rs 55.26 in Delhi. Rates will vary depending on state taxes.

Oil companies cited surge in global rates for the hike, which is the fifth in the last three months. “The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and rupee-dollar exchange rate warrant increase in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” said Indian Oil Corp. The last hike was on October 5 when petrol price went up by 14 paise per litre and diesel was hiked by 10 paise a litre. It was triggered by an increase in dealers’ commission.

Currently, global oil prices have soared above $50 a barrel after expectations of an output cut rose, reported NDTV. Fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp keep an eye on the global scene and revise rates accordingly every fortnight.

Recently, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut production. The cut is likely to reduce output by around 7,00,000 barrels per day. However, it is not an evenly distributed cut because Iran will be allowed to increase production. Earlier attempts to cut production failed because of disagreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia.