Petrol prices reach Rs 79.31, diesel Rs 71.34 in Delhi

The prices of Petrol and diesel rose further to Rs 79.31 and Rs 71.34 per litre respectively in the national capital on Tuesday.

Fuel pricesalso increased in Mumbai with prices of petrol reaching to Rs 86.72 per litreand that of diesel to Rs 75.74for diesel.

Following today's increase, the total surge in petrol prices went up by Rs 2.50 per litre and that of diesel went by Rs 3 per litre since the last one month.

While the prices of petrol surged by 16 paise, prices of diesel went up by nearly 20 paise on Tuesday.

Fuel prices have been on the rise since August 16 after the rupee dipped to its lowest value against the US dollar.

Petrol and diesel prices had gone up by almost a rupee a litre within a fortnight.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan blamed the "external factors" for the rise in domestic prices of petrol and diesel on Sunday.

Pradhan said that the factors responsible for the drop in production of crude oil have resulted in the rise of fuel prices in the country.

"I would like to mention two points, and both these subjects are external. OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) had promised that it will raise production by one million barrels per day, which was not raised. Apart from that, crises in countries like Venezuela and Iran are increasing. There is a pressure on oil prices due to a decrease in production. Secondly, global currencies have weakened against the US dollar," he said.

He also said that the increase in the prices was temporary.