NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday defended the 137-day hiatus in fuel price revision, saying the disruption in supply chains and the resultant increase in global oil prices due to the war in Ukraine was a "couple of weeks" phenomenon resulting in the record hike in petrol and diesel prices in last 8 days.
International oil prices had started moving up days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The basket of crude oil that India buys averaged $100.71 per barrel that day as compared to $82 in early November 2021 when state-owned fuel retailers hit the pause button on daily price revision ahead of assembly elections in five states.
