India’s 4 fuel price hikes in 10 days still among ‘smallest’ globally; OMC under recoveries ‘substantially’ lower

Through the 78 days from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on February 28 to the OMC revisions of May 15, 19, 23, and 25, India held petrol and diesel prices unchanged while the rest of the world raised prices by 10%, 20%, 50%, and in some cases 90%, official sources said.

The cumulative Indian revision across the four May moves — just over ₹7 a litre — takes the headline movement in Indian retail prices to roughly 7.5%, equivalent to ₹7.35 per litre on petrol and ₹7.53 per litre on diesel.

Sources explained that every other major importing economy has passed on the cost to its consumers, in several cases doubling pump prices over 48 months. India has not.

The Indian revision of just over ₹7 a litre, equivalent to roughly 7.5% off the Delhi base, is the smallest material upward movement of any major economy outside the directly subsidising Gulf producers — smaller than Japan, smaller than every European economy, and smaller even than South Asian peers that lack India’s buffers, sources said.

At the peak of the crude spike, the government said it was absorbing losses of around ₹24 per litre on petrol and ₹30 per litre on diesel. As of May 23, losses on petrol had come down to ₹13/litre, while losses on diesel had inched up to ₹38/litre.

Sources said the May 25 fuel price increase will push daily OMC under-recoveries from ₹1,000 crore a day to a “substantially lower run-rate”. The remaining loss is still being absorbed.

According to sources, OMC losses on petrol are approximately ₹10.50/litre, while losses on diesel sales are approximately ₹35.5/litre after the fourth fuel price increase in 10 days.

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First Published: 

May 23, 2026 8:12 PM

IST