Mumbai, August 31: The fuel prices continued to surge for the sixth consecutive day on Friday. In Mumbai, petrol price was today hiked by 0.21 paisa a litre while diesel by 0.30 paisa per litre, taking the fuel prices to a new high. With the latest surge, petrol in Mumbai was priced at Rs 85.93/litre while the price of Diesel was Rs 74.54/litre, while in Delhi, petrol is Rs 78.52/litre while diesel is being sold at Rs 70.21/litre.

In the wake of increasing fuel rates, the government hoped that the rally in global rates is temporary and they will decline soon. On Thursday, diesel prices increased by 18 paise per litre in Delhi and was priced at Rs 69.93 per litre in the national capital.

In Mumbai, diesel was priced at Rs 74.24, in Kolkata, it was Rs 72.78, while in Chennai, diesel was priced at  Rs 75.09 per litre.  Meanwhile, petrol prices increased by 12 paise per litre in Delhi on Thursday and was being retailed at Rs 78.30 per litre in the national capital, Rs 85.72 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 81.23 per litre in Kolkata and Rs 82.60 in Chennai.

Earlier this week, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had said that he believes that this increase in oil prices is really temporary. The fluctuations were seen coming, he said. "The crude (oil price) had gone down to the level of USD 70 per barrel and it is back to USD 74-75, it should be temporary. It is coming out of some countries not able to produce so I hope it remains temporary. We will be able to come back USD 70-71 per barrel soon," he added.

This week, diesel prices hit their highest level, crossing the previous peak of Rs 69.31 a litre reached on May 29. Petrol rates are, however, yet to hit the new record high of May 29, when they touched Rs 78.43 a litre in Delhi. To recall, fuel prices have been on the rise since August 16 after the rupee dipped to its lowest value against the US dollar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2018 08:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).