New Delhi, March 20: The price of premium petrol and industrial diesel has seen a sharp increase in Delhi following a surge in international crude oil benchmarks to $119 per barrel. Premium petrol rates rose by Rs 2 per liter on Friday, bringing the cost to Rs 101.89, while bulk diesel sold to industrial sectors jumped by approximately Rs 22 per liter. Officials attributed the volatility to escalating Middle East tensions and ongoing conflict involving Iran, which have disrupted global energy supplies.
Despite the spike in the premium segment, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas confirmed that prices for regular petrol and diesel remain unchanged. Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma stated that the price hike is localized to the premium category, which accounts for only 2 to 4 percent of total national sales. She affirmed that the government’s primary objective is to shield the general public from inflationary pressures, ensuring that the daily budget of the common man is not burdened by these adjustments.
Currently, regular petrol in the capital is priced at Rs 94.77 per liter, with diesel holding steady at Rs 87.67. While fuel prices were officially deregulated in 2010 and 2014, Indian oil marketing companies have maintained a period of relative stability since April 2022. Ministry representatives declared that these companies often absorb additional costs during international price hikes to provide market stability, recovering those margins when global rates soften.
The industrial diesel hike to Rs 109.59 per liter is expected to primarily impact large-scale manufacturing and logistics firms that purchase fuel in bulk. Sharma maintained that since the vast majority of consumers utilize regular grade fuel, the direct economic impact on households will be negligible. She asserted that the Ministry continues to monitor international developments to prevent sudden shocks to the domestic retail market.
