Biz LPG price hiked 3rd time in a month, to hit industries, eateries

NEW DELHI: The price of commercial LPG cylinders rose by over 10% on Wednesday, from Rs 1,883 to Rs 2,078 in the national capital, reflecting the surge in global gas prices amid the military conflict in energy-rich West Asia.The 19-kg LPG cylinder is largely used by industries and eateries, and domestic consumers, who use 14.2-kg cylinders, will not see an increase, with govt and oil retailers bearing the burden.For commercial cooking gas, this is the third increase in the past month - the price was Rs 1,768.5 on March 1. It will now cost Rs 2,208 in Kolkata, Rs 2,031 in Mumbai and Rs 2,246.5 in Chennai.The ministry also said at current prices, oil marketing companies were incurring an under-recovery of Rs 380 per cylinder, and cumulative losses by end-May were estimated at Rs 40,484 crore.

Of the Rs 60,000 crore losses incurred in 2024-25, Rs 30,000 crore was absorbed by oil PSUs and Rs 30,000 crore by the Centre to insulate consumers from high international LPG prices.Officials said OMCs were also incurring under-recoveries of Rs 24.4 per litre on petrol and Rs 104.9 per litre on diesel at the retail level, as global petroleum prices rose by up to 100% in the past month.IndianOil also raised the price of 100-octane petrol and premium diesel by Rs 11 and Rs 1.5 per litre, respectively.

Officials said premium fuels are deregulated and account for only about 1% of total automobile fuel sales. Prices of regular petrol and diesel remain unchanged.The petroleum ministry said prices of commercial LPG cylinders were "deregulated and market-determined" and revised monthly. "The April 1 increase was necessitated by a 44% surge in the Saudi Contract Price, from $542 per tonne in March to $780 per tonne for April, as 20%-30% of LPG supplies were stuck in the Strait of Hormuz," the ministry said. It added that commercial cylinders account for less than 10% of total LPG consumption in the country.