Petrol and diesel prices remained largely unchanged on May 13, with the exception of Jaipur and Lucknow showing minor variations. According to reports, in the national capital, petrol is selling at ₹94.77 per litre while diesel is priced at ₹87.67 per litre. Mumbai continues to have the steepest rates with petrol at ₹103.50 per litre and diesel at ₹90.01 per litre. As reported by Bloomberg, processors anticipate a hike of about 5 rupees per litre for both diesel and gasoline to help mitigate estimated losses of ₹10 billion per day on fuel sales.
State-owned oil marketing companies are incurring significant daily losses from subsidizing fuel prices for Indian consumers. According to reports from NDTV Profit, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated that public sector oil marketing companies may not be able to sustain daily losses of ₹1,000 crore from selling petrol and diesel below market price. The RBI Governor warned that if this continues for a longer period, it is just a matter of time before the government will pass on some of the price increases at a conference hosted by the Swiss National Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Switzerland.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that prioritized immediate economic responses to the escalating crisis. As reported by NDTV Profit, with a briefing scheduled for 3pm, the question remains whether significant austerity measures are likely to be announced. The meeting comes as energy shocks triggered by the US-Iran war have created substantial financial pressure on oil marketing companies.
According to NDTV Profit reports, energy shocks from the US-Iran war have created a potential loss of ₹1.2 lakh crore in the first quarter of FY27 for oil marketing companies. This loss far exceeds street estimates of ₹27,000 crore per month, translating to ₹81,000 crore per quarter considering crude remained at $120 per barrel level. To sustain operations, petrol prices might need to be raised by 29.5% or ₹28 increase to reach approximately ₹130 per litre in Mumbai, while diesel requires a hike of over 36% to levels of ₹122 per litre or more.
Oil prices maintained strong gains with Brent crude trading near $107 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate hovered around $102. As reported by NDTV Profit, oil prices held on to strong gains after rising nearly 4% in the previous session, as the conflict in the Middle East showed little sign of easing and new evidence pointed to mounting pressure on Iran's crude exports. Despite mounting pressure to raise fuel prices amid the Iran war disruption, the central government has decided to keep domestic LPG rates unchanged, with commercial LPG cylinder prices increasing by ₹993 on average across major cities.