Petrol and diesel prices have risen for the sixth time in a week.

On Monday, the price of petrol was increased by 30 paise per litre and the price of diesel by 35 paise, bringing the total increase in rates in the recent week to 4-4.10 per litre.

According to a price notification from state fuel merchants, petrol in Delhi will now cost 99.41 per litre, up from 99.11 before, while diesel rates would rise from 90.42 to 90.77 per litre.

Rates have been raised across the country, and they differ from state to state based on the amount of municipal taxation.

This is the sixth price rise since the end of a four-and-a-half-month rate review break on March 22.

Prices were raised by 80 pence per litre on the first four instances, the largest single-day increase since the daily price adjustment was established in June 2017. On Sunday, the price of petrol increased by 50 paise per litre while the price of diesel increased by 55 paise per litre.

Overall, fuel prices have increased by 4 per litre, while diesel prices have increased by 4.10.

Prices had been frozen since November 4 in anticipation of assembly elections in areas such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, during which time the cost of raw materials (crude oil) had risen by around USD 30 per barrel.

The rate revision was supposed to happen soon after the votes were counted on March 10, but it was postponed for a few weeks.

The increase in retail price necessitated by crude oil prices rising from around USD 82 per barrel to USD 120 per barrel during the 137-day hiatus is significant, but state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) are gradually passing on the required increase.

According to Moody's Investors Services, state merchants together lost roughly USD 2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue during the election season because gasoline and diesel prices were held steady.

According to Kotak Institutional Equities, oil companies "would need to boost diesel prices by 13.1-24.9 per litre and gasoline (petrol) prices by 10.6-22.3 per litre at an underlying crude price of USD 100-120 per barrel."

According to CRISIL Research, a 100% pass-through of an average USD 100 per barrel crude oil will require a 9-12 per litre increase in retail pricing, and a 15-20 per litre increase if the average crude oil price climbs to USD 110-120.

Because India is 85 percent reliant on imports to meet its oil needs, retail rates fluctuate with the global market.