Petrol nears Rs 90/litre in Mumbai, over Rs 85 in Chennai
New Delhi, Sep 18 : Continuing an upward movement, prices of petrol and diesel scaled new highs on Tuesday, with petrol nearing Rs 90 per litre in Mumbai and crossing Rs 84 in Kolkata.
Petrol was selling at record Rs 89.54 per litre in Mumbai, 10 paise up from its previous high, the data from Indian Oil Corp's website showed.
Prices in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai also touched unprecedented levels of Rs 82.16, Rs 84.01 and Rs 85.41 per litre respectively, up from Monday's Rs 82.06, Rs 83.91 and Rs 85.31 per litre.
The cost of transportation fuel has been on the rise since August 1, largely because of high crude oil prices and falling rupee. Depreciation in the Indian rupee against the US dollar makes the import of crude oil expensive as transaction is done in dollars.
Sector experts feel that high excise duty in the country also aided the high prices.
In line with petrol, diesel prices also scaled new highs on Tuesday.
In Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, diesel prices touched fresh highs of Rs 73.87, Rs 78.42 and Rs 78.10, up from the previous levels of Rs 73.78, Rs 78.33 and Rs 78 per litre.
In Kolkata, the fuel was sold at Rs 75.72, against Monday's Rs 75.63 per litre. The highest-ever diesel price in the city is Rs 75.82, recorded on September 11.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
