New Delhi: After the steep petrol and diesel price hike on Saturday, the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) was hiked by a steep 8.2 per cent on Sunday while the rates of non-subsidised LPG was increased by Rs 5 per cylinder on firming international oil rates.
The steep ATF hike could now lead to a hike in air-fares by airlines. The price of ATF in Delhi was hiked by Rs 3,849.97 per kilolitre, or 8.2 per cent, to Rs 50,363 per kl, oil companies announced on Saturday, according to news agency reports.
The rate hike follows seven consecutive monthly cuts since August, the last being by 11.27 per cent (Rs 5,909.9 per kl) from February 1.
Prior to Sunday’s increase, ATF price had been cut by Rs 23,648.73 or 33 per cent in seven reductions since August 2014. Even after Sunday’s hike, jet fuel rates are lowest since February 2011. Jet fuel constitutes 40 to 45 percent of an airline’s operating costs and the price increase will raise the financial burden of cash-strapped carriers which may prompt them to hike air-fares.
Simultaneously, the oil firms also hiked the price of non-subsidised or market-priced domestic cooking gas (LPG) by Rs 5 to Rs 610 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. The increase comes on the back of seven straight reductions in rates of non-subsidised or market-priced LPG since August. The customers buy non-subsidised after exhausting their quota of 12 cylinders at subsidised rates.
The price of non-subsidised LPG was last cut on February 1 by Rs 103.5 per 14.2-kg cylinder. In the seven monthly reductions, non-domestic LPG rates had been slashed by Rs 317.50 per cylinder, bringing the price to a three-year low.
