Petrol price hike worries Noida traders

“Business and trade have slowed down due to low sales volume. The hike will add to the operative costs. It will increase the cost of transportation. We are worried about the government’s decision,” said Sushil Kumar Jain NOIDA: After the fuel price hike on Monday evening, the business and trading community has expressed concerns saying that the new rates could affect their operative costs.

On Tuesday, petrol prices stood at Rs 73.79 a litre in Noida. It was Rs 71.44 on Monday. The current diesel price is Rs 65.40 per litre. In the Capital, petrol prices were slashed to Rs 71.84 per litre, as against Rs 71.91 earlier.

Diesel became cheaper by 8 paise and now costs Rs 65.18 a litre. Earlier the price was Rs 65.26. In Noida, the price was affected by the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) on both petrol and diesel.

Members of the business community said the change in rates could affect the bottom lines.

“Business and trade have slowed down due to low sales volume. The hike will add to the operative costs. It will increase the cost of transportation. We are worried about the government’s decision,” said Sushil Kumar Jain, the convenor, Delhi, NCR, of the Confederation of All India Traders.

Additional regional transport officer, Noida, Himesh Tiwari, said: “Mostly petrol is bought by two-wheeler users and because the consumption is less, a marginal difference in price does not affect them. The price change did not affect the sales much on Tuesday."

Sudhir Kumar, a petrol pump operator in Noida, said:“The sales would have been affected if diesel prices were increased because diesel is mostly purchased by commercial vehicles. Petrol buyers do not mind spending a few rupees more because going all the way to Delhi (to buy it) also means burning extra fuel.”
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