Rising petrol, diesel prices eat into people’s monthly budget

Amaravathi: The slow and steady rise in prices of petrol has become a cause of worry to the common man. There has been a hike of more than Rs 2 in the last 10 days. The price of petrol in Hyderabad on September 17 was Rs.76.72 and on September 26, the price was Rs.78.87. In Andhra Pradesh, the price is slightly low, but the hike is the same.

In Visakhapatnam, the petrol price was Rs 75.47 on the 17th of this month, while today the price is Rs.77.56. It goes the same for the prices of diesel also.

Consumers don’t seem to face the heat of the rising petrol prices immediately as they change daily. Dynamic pricing was introduced in June 2017 by the NDA government at the Centre.

The prices of petrol and diesel started to rise, amidst fears of an impending war on Saudi Arabia. Speculations are that the prices of petrol may shoot up to Rs 5 within a short span of time.

After a continuous price hike over eight days, on September 24 there was no change in prices. Again, there was a marginal increase of about Rs 0.07 in petrol prices on Thursday. The prices of petrol and diesel continue to rise, despite crude oil prices falling.

The increase in petrol and diesel prices first impact the common man. Transportation cost of vegetables and groceries are hiked. This in turn, forces sellers to hike their prices. A Rs 2 rise in petrol will cost Rs 200 to the common man per month.

A wholesale vegetable merchant on condition of anonymity asked, “What can we do? The auto driver increases the fare if petrol prices are hiked. I cannot meet the cost from my pocket. Hence, it is transferred to the customer.”

Phani Kumar, a private employee said, “Usually, we don’t bother about petrol price fluctuations. But it matters when there is a continuous rise in prices. If this goes on for one month, the cost of every item will be hiked. It is disturbing.”