Petrol, Diesel Price Hike Soon? PM’s Fuel Warning Sparks Speculation
The sources, however, said that state-run fuel retailers may raise petrol and diesel prices in the coming days to offset mounting losses.
New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for careful use of fuels like petrol, diesel and gas in the country, speculations are rife that petrol and diesel prices may go up further anytime now. As the inter-ministerial discussions are going on in this matter, the government is weighing all options to take a call at the right time, according to the sources.
The buzz of price hike erupted as Modi’s on Sunday appealed to citizens to reduce energy consumption, urging people to use fuels “with great restraint” and suggested measures such as using public transport, carpooling and reviving work-from-home practices to reduce fuel consumption amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. However, the prices of petrol and diesel in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and other cities remained unchanged on Monday.
The sources, however, said that state-run fuel retailers may raise petrol and diesel prices in the coming days to offset mounting losses. “The discussions between the finance and petroleum ministries and oil marketing companies (OMCs) are going on a daily basis and weighing all options about the fuel price hike. The timing and extent of the hike will depend on global crude trends and the government’s approach to balancing fiscal pressures and energy pricing,” the sources said.
As per the sources, fuel prices are expected to witness a hike soon across India as state-owned OMCs have incurred losses of more than Rs 1 lakh crore over the past 10 weeks for shielding consumers from soaring global fuel prices due to the Iran war. “Besides, there is a fear of a surge in the import bill as the global crude prices breached the $104-per-barrel mark after US President Donald Trump’s response to Iran’s latest proposal, which may trigger the hike of fuel prices in India as well,” the sources said.
“State-owned oil retailers have already informed the government about their loss due to supply disruption following the ongoing Gulf war and anticipate a small rise in fuel prices soon from the central government to offset significant daily losses. So the hike in fuel prices remains inevitable now as the government does not want to soar the import bill cost,” the sources said without giving how much hike in fuel prices.
India imports over 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, exceeding 5 million barrels per day. As per the latest government data, India’s crude oil import bill for the financial year 2025-26 (FY26) reached $134.7 billion, accounting for 17.4 per cent of the country's total import bill, driven by high global prices and demand.
According to the sources, major OMCs like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) are together incurring under-recoveries of Rs 1,600-1,700 crore every day by selling petrol, diesel and cooking gas LPG below cost. “The cumulative under-recovery over the past 10 weeks of conflict in West Asia is estimated to be over Rs 1 lakh crore,” the sources said.
Despite a nearly 50 per cent rise in crude oil prices during the period (Gulf war), petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged at two-year-old levels of about on average of Rs 94-95 per litre and Rs 87.67 per litre, respectively. But LPG prices, however, were raised by Rs 60 per cylinder in March, but are still below actual cost.
Industry insiders said that the pressure on OMC finances has raised concerns over how long they can continue absorbing losses without additional borrowing. “Fuel prices are likely to remain in focus in the coming days due to OMCs’ mounting losses, rising global crude prices and calls from industry to roll back tax cuts add to expectations that the government may have to take a call on petrol and diesel rates,” they said.
