Petrol and diesel prices today, September 19: Retail fuel prices remained steady across India’s major cities on Saturday, September 19, as state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) maintained current rates during their daily 6:00 AM revisions.
In Mumbai, petrol price stands at ₹111.21 per litre today. No change has been recorded in petrol prices compared to yesterday. Over recent days, the petrol price has fluctuated within a narrow range between ₹111.18 and ₹111.21.
However, a looming regulatory change threatens to disrupt consumer payments at fuel stations. nationwide are urgently petitioning the ministries of finance and petroleum for an exemption from a new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction fee set to take effect next month.
The dealer associations are protesting the proposed flat ₹5 merchant discount rate () applied to UPI fuel purchases exceeding ₹2,000. Operators have cautioned that the levy will severely strain their already-thin, fixed per-litre margins.
As Mint previously reported, the added financial burden could force several dealers to halt UPI acceptance for transactions above the ₹2,000 threshold to protect their profitability.
The price for a barrel of , the international standard, got to nearly $110 early this week, up from a little over $70 in July. It has been seesawing since.
On Saturday, oil fell for a third straight session amid shifting concerns about Middle East supply, with Saudi Arabia pausing some sales to Europe.
It briefly dropped below $102 in overnight trading before erasing much of the loss and settling at $103.87, down 0.9% from the day before.
Rising oil prices have pushed gasoline prices to $4.47 per gallon in the US, up from $3.20 per gallon a year ago, according to AAA. Diesel prices are at a record $6.45 per gallon.
Iran said it struck the Togo-flagged oil tanker Trend over what it described as an “illegal attempt” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night, according to the state broadcaster, which cited the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Guard’s navy warned that vessels attempting to pass through the strait without authorisation would face “destruction,” the broadcaster said. Tehran has asserted control over much of the waterway since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on 28 February.
(with agency inputs)
