Petrol, Diesel Prices Hike From May 1? Govt's Clarification & Check Latest City-Wise Fuel Prices In India

Concerns sparked that fuel prices like petrol and diesel could rise from May 1, 2026, due to uncertain and vulnerable conditions of the Strait of Hormuz. Reports suggest that petrol and diesel prices could rise by Rs 25 to Rs 28 in the coming days. However, worry not, as the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has clarified that there is no such plan to hike fuel prices. But experts believe that the possibility pertains.

Petrol, Diesel Prices Hike: No Plans

In a press-briefing, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sujata Sharma said that there is no immediate plans to hike fuel prices. She said, "LPG, petroleum and diesel are available in sufficient amount and the prices have not increased, so please do not panic," she added while asserting that supplies remain stable."

Further, Sharma added, "Domestic LPG, PNG, and CNG transport supply has been maintained at 100%, while commercial LPG supply has been restored up to 70%. LPG supply is being provided on a priority basis to hospitals, educational institutions, and the pharma, steel, and agriculture sectors. Supply for migrant workers through 5 kg FTL cylinders has also been almost doubled."

The buzz of fuel prices hike has been going around since the US-Israel-Iran war began. The latest claims by media reports were that the prices could surge by Rs 25-28 per litre. However, on April 23, the Ministry called it a "FAKE News."

Last week, the ministry said, "There are some news reports suggesting a price hike of petrol and diesel. It is hereby clarified that there is no such proposal under consideration by the Government."

It added, "Such news items are designed to create fear and panic amongst the citizens and are mischievous and misleading."

"In fact, India is the only country where petrol and diesel prices haven't increased in the last 4 years. Govt of India and Oil PSUs have taken relentless steps in order to insulate the Indian citizens from steep increases in international prices," the ministry added lastly.

Check Petrol Prices In India Today:

City	Price (₹)	Price Change
New Delhi	94.77	0
Kolkata	105.45	+0.04
Mumbai	103.54	0
Chennai	101.23	+0.17
Gurgaon	95.85	+0.37
Noida	94.74	-0.38
Bangalore	102.92	0
Bhubaneswar	100.98	+0.04
Chandigarh	94.3	0
Hyderabad	107.46	-0.04
Jaipur	104.72	-0.31
Lucknow	94.68	-0.05
Patna	105.59	+0.36
Thiruvananthapuram	107.48	+0.18

Check Diesel Prices In India Today:

City	Price (₹)	Price Change
New Delhi	87.67	0
Kolkata	92.02	0
Mumbai	90.03	0
Chennai	92.81	+0.20
Gurgaon	88.3	+0.36
Noida	87.81	-0.48
Bangalore	90.99	0
Bhubaneswar	92.56	+0.04
Chandigarh	82.45	0
Hyderabad	95.7	0
Jaipur	90.21	-0.28
Lucknow	87.8	-0.06
Patna	91.82	+0.33
Thiruvananthapuram	96.48	+0.30

Should Petrol, Diesel Prices Be Hiked?

OMCs who have been the most vulnerable due to the ongoing conflict in Middle East, have kept the petrol and diesel prices unchanged. Earlier, Industry sources revealed that the three OMCs-namely HPCL, BPCL and IOCL-were incurring losses up to Rs 2,400 crore per day at the peak last month. However, the losses have reduced to Rs 1,600 crore per day after the government lowered excise duties by Rs 10 each on petrol and diesel.

According to a report of Macquarie Group, at crude prices of $135 to $165 per barrel, Indian OMCs would bear losses of Rs 18 per litre on petrol and Rs 35 per litre on diesel sales. The broker estimated that for every $10 per barrel surge in crude oil prices, OMCs bear Rs 6 per litre in market losses.

Despite this, OMCs have kept petrol and diesel prices frozen.

"Given the sharp surge in crude oil and fertilizer prices, the duration of the Middle East conflict will have a direct impact on Inflation and economic growth for FY27. Commercial LPG prices have already been increased twice while the excise duties on petrol and diesel have been reduced to cushion the impact on oil marketing companies," said Puneet Pal, Head- Fixed Income, PGIM India Mutual Fund.

Notably, Indian OMCs have kept petrol and diesel prices unchanged since April 2022. From 2022 to date, the global economy has seen significant shifts from the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza-Hezbollah-Iran war to tariff hikes to trade wars and much more. Global crude oil prices have swung accordingly.

Oil prices hit near $150 per barrel following the Russia-Ukraine war but cooled to $70 per barrel last year before spiking to $120 per barrel last month. Throughout this, OMCs have not changed fuel prices.

Also, despite the latest excise duty cut of Rs 11.9 per litre on petrol and Rs 7.8 per litre on diesel, which does cushion OMCs' losses. There are still state-level value-added taxes (VATs), which are largely high and vary from state to state.

Fuel prices are calculated taking into consideration international crude prices, excise duty, VAT, cess, currency fluctuations and other costs.

According to an Emkay Global report dated April 24, "The Middle-East conflict remains in limbo, and an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) remains elusive, despite cessation in hostilities. Thereby, analysts here said, "This has sustained pressure on the Indian economy owing to high crude prices (Brent at $100/bbl), and we think a 10% hike in retail petrol/diesel prices now looks likely, absent an agreement on the SoH."

"Continued closure of the SoH will force the government to raise retail fuel prices, in our view. We expect a Rs 10/ltr hike in the first round: while this does not fully neutralize the under-recoveries of OMCs, the inflation shock from a larger hike poses too many macro risks to be seriously considered. If crude prices do not normalize in the medium term, we expect further rounds of hikes along similar lines," added analysts.

Currently, US WTI Crude Oil price trades near $99 per barrel mark, and Brent Crude is above $110 per barrel.

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