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OMCs hike petrol, diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre each on May 15 amid elevated global crude prices
May-15-2026

Amid mounting losses of fuel retailers due to elevated global crude prices, oil-marketing companies (OMCs) hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre each on May 15, 2026, for the first time in over four years. Petrol price was hiked to Rs 97.77 per litre from Rs 94.77 in the national capital, while diesel costs Rs 90.67 as against Rs 89.67 per litre previously. Petrol in Mumbai now costs Rs 106.68 a litre and diesel come for Rs 93.14 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 108.74 per litre and diesel Rs 95.13, while in Chennai, prices increased to Rs 103.67 for petrol and Rs 95.25 for diesel. Rates vary across states due to differences in value-added tax.

Prices have remained on freeze since April 2022 but for a one-off reduction by Rs 2 a litre each on petrol and diesel in March 2024, just before Lok Sabha elections. Rates were last hiked in April 2022. In the meantime, energy prices globally shot up after the US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28, and the subsequent retaliation by Tehran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz - the sea lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transits. 

Crude oil, the input raw material for making petrol and diesel, surged above $120 per barrel during the peak of the West Asia conflict, as opposed to the $70-72 range before the conflict. Meanwhile, the basket of crude oil that India imports averaged $69 per barrel in February before the war in West Asia broke out. It averaged $113-114 per barrel in subsequent months. More recently, prices have eased but remained elevated around the $104-110 per barrel range. This triggered massive losses for state-owned fuel retailers. The oil companies were losing Rs 14 per litre on petrol, Rs 42 a litre on diesel and Rs 674 a litre on cooking gas LPG before the price hike. 

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