NEW DELHI : Petrol prices were increased once again today, this time by 18 paise a litre. For the fourth consecutive day, diesel prices were left untouched. If the last 10 days are taken into account, the price of petrol has jumped up by ₹1.03 while that of diesel has increased by just 4 paise. The price gap between the two auto fuels have now widened by almost a rupee.

In Delhi a litre of petrol costs ₹73.63, diesel ₹68.79. In the neighbouring Gurgaon, petrol is priced at ₹73.42 and diesel ₹65.13. Those in Noida will have to pay ₹ 75.21 for petrol and ₹ 66.10 for diesel.

In Bengaluru, you are charged ₹ 76.15 a litre for petrol and ₹ 68.03 for diesel. In Mumbai, petrol is priced at ₹ 79.30 and ₹ 69.01.

November had begun with a declining fuel price trend but it reversed from November 8. Diesel has however maintained a declining trend since November 11. The difference in prices of petrol and diesel is due to a difference in benchmark rates for the two fuels.

Last month, when fuel prices were on a declining path, the demand for diesel dropped at its steepest annual rate in about three years, according to petroleum ministry data.

Diesel sales, which accounts for about two-fifths of overall fuel consumption, slipped 7.4% year-on-year to 6.51 million tonnes in October.

Top refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has said that diesel demand is expected to recover in the next six months as a longer-than-usual monsoon season that affected transportation and industry has ended.

In the international crude oil market, prices recovered today over hopes that OPEC and its allies will cap production to cope with a supply glut. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Thursday that it expects demand for its oil to fall in 2020.

Brent crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $62.58 a barrel by 0147 GMT, having dropped 9 cents on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 29 cents, or 0.5%, at $57.06 a barrel, after falling 0.6% in the previous session.