OMCs hike petrol, diesel prices in four metros amid West Asia crisis

Oil marketing companies raised petrol and diesel prices across the four metro cities on Friday. The prices were raised by around ₹3 per litre for both fuels, in line with the recent increase in global energy prices amid the ongoing West Asia war, which has caused a supply crunch.

Petrol in the national capital will now cost ₹97.77 per litre, up from ₹94.77, while diesel will be priced at ₹90.67 per litre, compared with ₹87.67 earlier.

In Mumbai, petrol will now cost ₹106.68 per litre, while diesel will be available at ₹93.14 per litre, PTI reported.

Petrol prices were also revised in other metros, reaching ₹108.74 per litre in Kolkata and ₹103.67 per litre in Chennai. Diesel prices, too, saw a sharp increase, climbing to ₹95.13 per litre in Kolkata and ₹95.25 per litre in Chennai.

State-owned oil firms had kept fuel prices unchanged for 11 weeks despite rising input costs amid surging global crude oil prices and the worsening situation in West Asia.

Earlier, on May 13, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra had said that India may need to increase retail fuel prices if the conflict in West Asia drags on.

His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voluntary austerity measures, including reducing petrol and diesel consumption and postponing gold purchases, to preserve foreign exchange reserves.

If this is to continue for a longer time, it is just a matter of time before the government passes on some of the price increases, Malhotra had said.

Even before the official revision, reports of a possible steep fuel price hike had triggered panic buying at petrol pumps across several parts of the country.