Since the war broke out in West Asia on 28 February, crude oil prices have surged to above $120 per barrel — a four-year high — up sharply from around $73 before hostilities began. The price hike has sent ripples across India’s import bill, with rising petroleum and fertiliser costs threatening both the fiscal math and consumer prices.
India’s Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran warned that a below-normal monsoon combined with a pass-through of higher energy prices could trigger a “potential inflation spike” in the months ahead — a double blow to households already feeling the pinch at the pump.
‘A Very Challenging Situation’
Nageswaran identified four distinct channels through which the West Asia conflict is hitting India — price and supply shock, trade disruption, sticky logistics costs, and a remittance shock — cautioning that the crisis was not a passing storm.
He noted that India imports 60% of its LPG requirements, of which 90% flows through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz, describing it as a “very challenging situation.”
The government, he said, was already walking a tightrope — partially passing through higher energy costs via commercial LPG pricing and export duties on diesel and ATF, while cutting excise duties on petrol and diesel to shield ordinary consumers.
“We are arriving at a modus vivendi with respect to burden-sharing between fiscal policy, inflation, households and oil marketing companies. It has to be a balancing act,” Nageswaran said.
Last week, a senior oil ministry official said that state-run fuel retailers were facing losses of around ₹20 per litre on petrol and nearly ₹100 per litre on diesel because of unchanged retail prices for almost four years, despite the rise in international oil rates.
Notably, state-run oil companies earned significant profits when global crude prices were largely subdued in the past couple of years, and retail fuel prices remained largely stagnant.
Petrol Price Across Cities
On Friday, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), speaking on behalf of the industry, said that prices of petrol and diesel would remain unchanged despite rising global energy costs.
However, government sources told PTI that a rise in petrol and diesel prices cannot be ruled out in the near term.
Here is a list of petrol prices across India’s cities:
| State | Price | Change in Price |
|---|---|---|
| New Delhi | ₹94.77 | 0 |
| Kolkata | ₹105.41 | 0 |
| Mumbai | ₹103.54 | 0 |
| Chennai | ₹100.8 | -0.04 |
| Gurugram | ₹95.43 | -0.22 |
| Noida | ₹94.85 | -0.05 |
| Bengaluru | ₹102.96 | 0 |
| Bhubaneswar | ₹100.94 | -0.09 |
| Chandigarh | ₹94.30 | 0.00 |
| Hyderabad | ₹107.5 | +0.04 |
| Jaipur | ₹105.03 | -0.37 |
| Lucknow | ₹94.69 | -0.04 |
| Patna | ₹105.74 | +0.32 |
| Thiruvananthapuram | ₹107.4 | -0.08 |
Here is a list of petrol prices across India’s cities:
| City | Price | Change in price |
|---|---|---|
| New Delhi | ₹87.67 | 0 |
| Kolkata | ₹92.02 | 0 |
| Mumbai | ₹90.03 | 0 |
| Chennai | ₹92.39 | 0 |
| Gurugram | ₹87.89 | -0.21 |
| Noida | ₹87.98 | -0.03 |
| Bengaluru | ₹90.99 | 0 |
| Bhubaneswar | ₹92.52 | -0.08 |
| Chandigarh | ₹82.45 | 0 |
| Hyderabad | ₹95.7 | 0 |
| Jaipur | ₹89.98 | -0.23 |
| Lucknow | ₹87.81 | 0 |
| Patna | ₹91.97 | +0.3 |
| Thiruvananthapuram | ₹96.28 | -0.2 |
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said India expanded its crude oil sourcing base to 41 countries from 27 earlier, as part of efforts to strengthen energy security during the global energy crisis.
“What has happened during this energy crisis in India, it happened because the Govt absorbed the shock at the fiscal system level rather than passing it immediately on to the consumer’s wallet,” Puri said while speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference – South Gujarat.
He added that long-term planning played a key role in managing the crisis. “Because preparations made over the last 10 years, the decade, came into play exactly when they were needed. We diversified our sources; crude sourcing has now expanded from 27 countries to 41,” he said.
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