Renewed pressure on petrol and diesel prices is being felt across major Indian cities as crude oil import costs edge closer to the $100 per barrel mark. This price hike is mainly due to escalating geopolitical tensions and volatility in the global oil markets, which have particularly impacted India, a country heavily reliant on oil imports.
As of Monday, the price of petrol in Delhi was ₹102.12 per litre, with diesel priced at ₹95.20. In Mumbai, petrol was being sold for ₹111.21, while diesel was priced at ₹97.83. Gurgaon recorded petrol prices at ₹102.97 and diesel at ₹95.64. Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, petrol was priced at ₹110.82 per litre, and diesel at ₹98.77. Bhubaneswar saw petrol at ₹108.97 and diesel at ₹100.68, whereas Chandigarh offered lower rates of ₹101.54 for petrol and ₹89.47 for diesel. These price differences stem from varying state VAT, local taxes, and transportation costs.
The current surge in crude oil prices is closely linked to heightened tensions in West Asia, particularly involving military skirmishes between the United States and Iran. Brent crude prices have also increased, pushing India’s average crude import basket to its highest level in three months. India’s dependency on imports for more than 88% of its crude oil needs makes domestic fuel prices highly susceptible to international oil price fluctuations.
While international crude prices have been on the rise, state-owned oil marketing companies in India, which control over 90% of the country’s petrol stations, have managed to keep retail petrol and diesel prices largely unchanged. Despite the stable domestic pricing, these companies are facing mounting pressure due to the increasing cost of crude oil globally. This is occurring alongside a notable rise in domestic petrol consumption, which increased by 7.9% in August, amounting to 3.824 million tonnes.