Desk Correspondent , New Delhi — State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Tuesday raised petrol and diesel prices by nearly Re 1 per litre across major metros. Driven by soaring global crude prices linked to the West Asia conflict, this marks the second domestic fuel price hike in less than a week, bringing the cumulative increase since May 15 to just under ₹4 per litre. The latest revision pushed petrol in Delhi to ₹98.64 per litre and diesel to ₹91.58, while petrol prices in Mumbai and Kolkata hit ₹107.59 and ₹109.70 per litre, respectively, due to varying local levies.

The simultaneous revisions were implemented by India's three dominant state-run retailers—Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited—which together control over 90% of the domestic fuel market. This price hike follows a ₹3 per litre increase last Friday, a move the OMCs deemed necessary after suffering collective daily revenue losses of nearly ₹1,000 crore on auto fuels and cooking gas. While earlier price adjustments managed to narrow daily operational losses to approximately ₹750 crore by Monday, sector experts note that the OMCs continue to lose ₹9–12 per litre, making further domestic price hikes highly probable.

Geopolitical friction and shipping disruptions through the critical Strait of Hormuz have sent benchmark Brent crude prices surging 54% to $112.10 a barrel, up from $72.87 before the conflict erupted on February 28. This presents a critical economic challenge for India, which imports over 88% of its crude oil and faces additional fiscal pressure from a rupee that has weakened 6% against the US dollar this year to ₹96.34. Government data highlights this sudden shift, showing the Indian crude basket jumping from an average of $69.01 a barrel in February to $113.49 in March, before stabilizing slightly to $106.69 in mid-May.