Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by about 90 paise per litre on Tuesday, marking the second increase in less than a week. According to reports from PTI, petrol prices in New Delhi increased to ₹98.64 per litre from ₹97.77, while diesel rose to ₹91.58 from ₹90.67. This follows last week's significant hike of ₹3 per litre on May 15, the first increase in more than four years. The price revisions come after state-run oil firms ended their nearly four-year freeze on fuel price adjustments. The latest increase comes as Brent crude prices remain volatile over fears of supply disruptions and shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route affected by tensions in the Middle East.
Shares of state-run oil marketing companies responded positively to the price hikes. Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) climbed as much as 3.15% to hit an intraday high of ₹135.95 on the National Stock Exchange, compared to the previous closing price of ₹131.81. At 11:26 AM, the stock was trading 2.95% higher at ₹135.70 per equity share. The surge was further supported by IOCL's strong Q4 FY26 earnings, which showed a 78% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹14,458 crore, compared to ₹8,123 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from core operations rose 7% to over ₹2.36 lakh crore in the fourth quarter.
The ongoing fuel price crisis has placed state-run oil marketing companies under significant financial pressure. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri warned last week that at current crude price levels, the combined losses of IOC, BPCL and HPCL in the April-June quarter could touch ₹1 lakh crore, potentially wiping out their entire projected profits for FY26. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) had kept fuel prices largely unchanged despite rising import costs, leading to heavy under-recoveries. According to estimates, the three OMCs were collectively losing between ₹750 crore and ₹1,000 crore per day on the sale of petrol, diesel and LPG before the recent revisions.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) shares soared 3.5% to touch the session's peak of ₹371.45 per equity share on the NSE, compared to the previous closing price of ₹358.90. At the time of writing, the share was trading 3.33% higher at ₹370.85 per unit. However, on a year-to-date basis, HPCL has fallen 26%. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) shares gained as much as 3.2% to hit an intraday high of ₹289.80 per unit, compared to the previous closing price of ₹280.80. The stock was trading 2.67% higher at ₹288.30 per equity share at the time of writing, though it has lost 8% over the month and 24% on a year-to-date basis.
The increase in fuel prices is expected to add pressure on retail inflation by raising transportation and logistics costs across sectors. Economist Sunil Kumar Sinha noted that higher fuel prices are likely to feed into food and commodity inflation in the coming weeks through increased transportation and logistics costs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently urged citizens to use fuel judiciously and stressed the need to reduce India's dependence on imported crude oil through renewable energy expansion and ethanol blending initiatives. The government has maintained that daily fuel price revisions are undertaken by OMCs in line with market conditions, with energy analysts suggesting that further adjustments cannot be ruled out if crude prices remain elevated.
