Petrol, Diesel Costlier by Rs 3 — India Ends Its Longest Fuel Price Freeze

Indians woke up to costlier fuel on Friday as state-owned oil marketing companies raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in nearly four years. State-owned retailers, which command 90% of the fuel market, have raised prices by over Rs 3 per litre for both petrol and diesel.

The move ends one of the longest price freezes in recent memory, but the trigger is hard to ignore. Retailers are currently losing Rs 10 billion daily on fuel sales as the Middle East war continues to squeeze supply. With IOC, BPCL, and HPCL absorbing mounting losses, the revision was no longer a question of if — only when.

State-owned oil companies IOC, BPCL, and HPCL together incurred under-recoveries of Rs 1,600–1,700 crore every day by selling petrol and diesel below cost, with cumulative losses crossing Rs 1 lakh crore over ten weeks of the West Asia conflict.

The political cover for the freeze had also thinned. Sources indicated that a hike was being held back while state elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were underway, and that the four-year price freeze was close to ending once those concluded.

Today’s diesel price in Mumbai stands at Rs 93.14 per litre, up from Rs 90.03 yesterday. Petrol prices have risen proportionally across metro cities, with Delhi and Mumbai among the first to reflect the revision at the pump.

The hike is expected to ripple through transportation, logistics, and food inflation in the near term, and will be watched closely by the RBI as it assesses its rate trajectory.