Fuel Prices In India: Confused, Whether Petrol Price And Diesel Price Are Hiked? Check Fuel Rates City-Wise

The news of fuel price hikes has escalated across India. On March 20th, Indian oil companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOCL have revised prices of certain fuel products. But panic not; the regular retail petrol and diesel prices remain unchanged. The reason behind the latest hike is the surge in crude oil prices which could impact margins of these OMCs.

Petrol Prices Hiked Or Not?

As per the latest update, oil companies have hiked high-octane fuel prices by Rs 2.09 to Rs 2.35. These high-octane power fuels are Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited's (BPCL) 'Speed,' Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's (HPCL) 'Power', and Indian Oil Corporation Limited's (IOCL) 'XP95'

In some cities, XP95 is available at around Rs 101.80 per litre due to the hike, while HPCL's POWER also has similar rates.

But it is reported that regular petrol and diesel prices are unchanged as of now.

But petrol is below Rs 95 per litre in cities like Lucknow, Chandigarh, Noida, and Delhi.

City	Price (per Liter)	Price Change
New Delhi	₹94.77	0.00
Kolkata	₹105.45	0.00
Mumbai	₹103.54	0.00
Chennai	₹100.84	-0.39
Gurgaon	₹95.51	+0.15
Noida	₹94.77	+0.03
Bangalore	₹102.96	0.00
Bhubaneswar	₹101.11	+0.08
Chandigarh	₹94.30	0.00
Hyderabad	₹107.46	-0.04
Jaipur	₹104.72	-0.39
Lucknow	₹94.69	0.00
Patna	₹105.23	-0.31
Thiruvananthapuram	₹107.33	+0.03

Diesel Prices In India:

Just like petrol, diesel price is also expensive in Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram to around Rs 96 per litre. Diesel is cheaper below Rs 88 per litre is available in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, and Lucknow. But diesel is cheapest in Bhubaneswar to around Rs 82.45 per litre.

City	Price (per Liter)	Price Change
New Delhi	₹87.67	0.00
Kolkata	₹92.02	0.00
Mumbai	₹90.03	0.00
Chennai	₹92.39	-0.42
Gurgaon	₹87.97	+0.14
Noida	₹87.89	+0.08
Bangalore	₹90.99	0.00
Bhubaneswar	₹92.69	+0.09
Chandigarh	₹82.45	0.00
Hyderabad	₹95.70	0.00
Jaipur	₹90.21	-0.35
Lucknow	₹87.81	0.00
Patna	₹91.49	-0.29
Thiruvananthapuram	₹96.21	+0.03

Why Fuel Prices Are Hiked?

According to a Kotak Institutional Equities report, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran has prolonged and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) remain at a standstill, India's import woes have increased.

"SOH is lifeline for India's energy imports. It accounts for 50-55% of India's oil/LNG imports, and nearly 88% of India's LPG imports. In our view, worries are less on crude oil, petrol and diesel. India is scaling up on Russian crude imports, and surplus refining capacity provides a cushion for petrol/diesel," analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities said.

However, if crude stays above $110 per barrel, the fuel prices hike is just inevitable. As per Elara Capital report, above $110 per barrel crude, retail fuels price hike is unavoidable. At $125 crude, even after excise cut, retail price need to rise by ~Rs8-14/liter. At $150, required rise spike to Rs26-30/liter. At that point, inflation shock would become visible and politically sensitive (seen in CY11-13). LPG is the bigger fiscal pain. Every $1/bbl crude rise jump LPG loss by ~Rs1/kg, adding ~Rs33bn to the subsidy.

Also, Elara's report pointed out that at $100/125/150 crude, LPG under-recovery could reach ~Rs1.4/2.2/3.0tn. CNG is relatively protected. Gas cost rise by ~Rs0.4/kg per $1/bbl crude move, and excise duty flexibility allows absorption up to ~$100 crude. India can absorb $40-45 crude shock via tax. Beyond $110/bbl, burden could shift from the government to consumers.

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