Petrol prices go up by Rs 5 in India

State-run oil companies in India will raise petrol rates by about Rs 5 per litre or around 8.6 percent from midnight, officials said on Saturday, the ninth hike in nine months that will fan price rises in an economy already beset by unsettling inflation figures.

The rise, first one since January, comes a day after poll results were declared from five state elections, and is being seen as a carefully planned rise with an eye on the ballot to avoid a major backlash against the ruling coalition at the centre, already battling corruption allegations.

The steepest hike in petrol prices since they were deregulated last year, is expected to be followed by a Rs 4 per litre raise in diesel rates and Rs 20-25 per cylinder increase in domestic LPG value later this month, media reports said.

Petrol in Delhi will now sell at Rs 63.37 per litre at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) stations from Sunday, a price that will still leave the country?s largest refinery losing Rs 5.50 per litre, putting another price hike on the cards soon, an official was quoted as saying.

The hike was held back for months, officials said, based on ?informal? advice from the government, which it continues to give even after freeing up petrol rates last year in June, even though crude oil prices touched a two-and-a-half-year highs this year.?

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, saying it will protest against the hike and accusing the ruling party of ?betraying? the common man.