In one of the steepest increases since daily price revision was started, petrol price on Thursday was hiked by 25 paise per litre and diesel by 30 paise as oil companies raised rates for the third straight day to pass on to consumers the increase in international oil prices.
The petroleum ministry on Friday reaffirmed the government's commitment to maintaining stable petrol and diesel prices, despite India's high dependence on imports.
Sensex gains over 400 points while Nifty trades above 23,800 amid strong IT sector buying.
The government-appointed Kirit Parikh committee suggested an 'immediately' hike prices of diesel by Rs 5 a litre, Rs 4 per litre in kerosene and Rs 250 per cylinder in LPG, reduce annual entitlement of subsidised cooking gas cylinder from six from nine and phase out diesel subsidy in one year to cut a record subsidy burden.
In nine hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 5 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.87 a litre.
The price of petrol has been hiked by Rs 1.39 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 1.04 a litre, in sync with firming international rates.
The cumulative increase since the oil companies started the cycle on June 7 now totals to Rs 9.17 for petrol and Rs 11.14 for diesel.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Samajwadi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal have decided to join forces to oppose the government's move to hike the diesel prices every month for the next one year and also increase the price of gas cylinders by Rs 50 to cut down the cost of subsidy.
Raise diesel prices or else face a situation similar to the recent grid failure which led to complete blackout across 20 states for hours, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Friday.
Left parties on Friday opposed the hike in diesel price with the Communist Party of India-Marxist terming it a "gigantic fraud" and decided to hold protests across the country while targeting thr Trinamool Congress for its "double standard" on the issue.
In all, petrol price has gone up by Rs 1.74 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.78 a litre in three days.
Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 77.28 per litre from Rs 76.73, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 75.79 a litre from Rs 75.19, according to a price notification from State oil marketing companies. Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
The Trinamool Congress has launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government over rising fuel prices, economic concerns, and exam irregularities, accusing the Centre of betraying citizens.
A foreign brokerage warns that sustained crude oil prices above USD 100 per barrel could push India's inflation above the RBI's tolerance level, potentially triggering interest rate hikes.
Private bus operators in Sri Lanka warn of potential service disruptions and a nationwide strike due to significant fuel price increases, impacting public transport and raising concerns about inflation.
With the losses incurred by oil marketing companies (OMC's) on selling regulated fuels below their market prices (under-recoveries) reaching alarming levels, an urgent corrective action, like hiking the price of diesel, has become imperative, says a Crisil study.
India has asked bulk buyers to pay market rates for diesel since last January and has also been raising the price of subsidised diesel in small amounts every month in an effort to cut its ballooning fuel subsidies.
Indian oil marketing companies are incurring significant losses, selling petrol at a Rs 14 per litre loss and diesel at Rs 18 per litre, as elevated global crude oil prices, exacerbated by the West Asia crisis, outpace capped retail fuel rates, according to rating agency Icra.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has warned that the ongoing West Asia crisis is not merely a geopolitical issue but will directly lead to higher fuel costs for common people and businesses, impacting shipping, input availability, and export orders.
The Indian government has increased the export duty, or windfall tax, on diesel to Rs 55.5 per litre and on aviation fuel (ATF) to Rs 42 a litre, effective immediately, to boost domestic availability and prevent exporters from exploiting global price differences.
The government has hiked diesel price by Rs 5 per litre, effective midnight tonight.
High gold imports had contributed to high CAD which stood at 5.4 per cent in the second half of 2012-13 and was creating pressure on the rupee.
'PM Modi is trying to reduce the volume of fuel consumed instead of raising prices sharply.'
Petrol and diesel prices were on Wednesday hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last nine days to Rs 5.60 per litre. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 101.01 per litre as against Rs 100.21 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 91.47 per litre to Rs 92.27 according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has accused the BJP-led central government of planning to increase fuel prices after the West Bengal assembly elections. He challenged the BJP to promise no price hikes for LPG, petrol, and diesel over the next five years.
The Indian government has imposed a new windfall gains tax of Rs 3 per litre on petrol exports, while simultaneously reducing the levy on diesel to Rs 16.5 per litre and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to Rs 16 per litre, effective May 16.
Petrol and diesel prices, which have been on a freeze for the past four months in view of assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, need to be increased by over Rs 12 per litre by March 16 for fuel retailers to break even. International crude oil prices shot above $120 a barrel for the first time in nine years on Thursday before retreating a little to $111 on Friday, but the gulf between cost and retail rates has only widened. With international oil prices - on which domestic fuel retails are directly benchmarked - spiking in the last two months, state-owned fuel retailers "need a massive price hike of Rs 12.1 per litre on or before March 16, 2022, just to breakeven and a price hike of Rs 15.1 is required" after including margins for oil firms, ICICI Securities said in a report.
Indian cement manufacturers, despite a stable Q4FY26, are bracing for significant profitability pressures from Q1FY27 onwards due to escalating input costs, primarily driven by the West Asia conflict's impact on coal and petcoke prices.
International oil prices continue to be extremely volatile, falling on one day and rising thereafter, a top oil ministry official said explaining the reason behind no reduction in petrol and diesel prices despite softening in input cost, but could not say if the rates will be cut before Maharashtra elections. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell below $70 per barrel last week -- the first time since December 2021 -- but gained thereafter. Brent was trading at $74.58 per barrel on Thursday while West Texas Intermediate advanced to trade at $71.71.
Petrol and diesel price hikes are likely to resume after state elections get over next week to bridge the Rs 9 a litre gap created by international oil prices soaring past $100 a barrel. International crude oil prices shot above $110 a barrel for the first time since mid-2014 on fears that oil and gas supplies from energy giant Russia could be disrupted, either by the conflict in Ukraine or retaliatory western sanctions. The basket of crude oil India buys rose above $102 per barrel on March 1, the highest since August 2014, according to information from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry.
It is high time that petrol and diesel prices were decontrolled taking advantage of low inflation and global crude prices, the Economic Survey said, while criticising the government for its "imperfect" handling of oil price hike.
Diesel price on Monday was hiked by 25 paise per litre -- the third increase since last week -- and more rate hikes for both diesel and petrol are in the offing in the coming days as international oil prices have soared to a three-year high. The price of diesel was hiked to Rs 89.32 per litre in Delhi and to Rs 96.94 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the second straight day of increase in diesel prices and the third since September 24 when the state-owned oil firms ended a three-week hiatus in rates.
The protesters led by the state unit Bharatiya Janata Party chief C P Thakur burnt the effigy of the prime minister at the busy Dak Bungalow roundabout.
Tata Motors' MD and CEO, Girish Wagh, has identified rising diesel prices as the most significant threat to India's commercial vehicle (CV) industry recovery, despite the sector recently surpassing its pre-FY19 wholesale peak. Diesel costs account for 25-50% of a truck operator's total cost of ownership, making any increase a critical concern for fleet economics.
Petrol and diesel prices were cut by Rs 2 per litre each as state-owned oil companies ended a nearly two-year-long hiatus in rate revision, just hours before the general election schedule was announced.
Petrol and diesel prices were on Tuesday hiked by 80 paise a litre while domestic cooking gas prices were increased by Rs 50 per cylinder, ending an over four-and-half month election-related hiatus in rate revision, sources said. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 96.21 per litre as against Rs 95.41 previously while diesel has gone up from Rs 86.67 per litre to Rs 87.47. Simultaneously, the price of a non-subsidised LPG cylinder has been increased to Rs 949.50 for each 14.2-kg bottle in the national capital.
In its analysis of truck rentals and diesel prices in the country between September to November period, IFTRT said, the government's decision to reduce diesel price by Rs 2 per litre last year has not benefited the common man as freight rates have been maintained at high levels.
The government is mulling a marginal hike in petrol and diesel price along with an excise duty cut on auto fuels to cut the Rs 7,840 crore (Rs 78.40 billion) loss public sector oil firms are incurring every month on selling fuel below cost.
In January, India allowed fuel retailers to raise the price of subsidised diesel every month and asked bulk buyers to pay market rates.
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