India starts selective fuel price hikes as oil goes past $100, industrial diesel up ₹22 per litre, premium petrol ₹2
New Delhi: As the West Asia conflict drives crude prices above $100 a barrel, India has begun a calibrated pass-through of the shock—raising prices of select fuels while holding the line on retail petrol and diesel.State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have raised industrial diesel prices by around ₹22 per litre and premium petrol by about ₹2 per litre, according to industry sources. However, the prices of regular transport fuels and premium diesel have been kept unchanged.In Delhi, the price of premium petrol has been increased from ₹99.89 per litre to ₹101.89, and the price of industrial diesel, which is procured in bulk, has been increased to ₹109.59 per litre.Earlier this month, prices of domestic cooking gas were raised by about ₹60 and commercial LPG by about ₹115.Addressing the media on the developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG), said there has been no increase in prices of regular petrol and the hike is limited to premium variants, which account for just 3-4% of total demand.
She added that fuel prices are deregulated and determined by oil marketing companies (OMCs) based on market conditions.Industrial diesel forms about 12% of India's total diesel sales and includes bulk supplies to industries, transporters and state transport units, making it a key driver of input costs across sectors. Experts suggest this may lead to a rise in inflation in the country.According to Pronab Sen, former chief statistician of India, the hike in industrial diesel prices will have some impact on inflation, but the increase in premium petrol prices will not, as “it is a small quantum and it does not really have a spillover effect”.Sen, however, said that oil
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