Ahmedabad: Nayara Energy, India’s largest private fuel retailer, on Thursday increased petrol prices by ₹5 per litre and diesel by ₹3 per litre, partly passing on the impact of the recent rise in global crude oil prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. With the hike, petrol prices at Nayara pumps in the city have touched ₹99.74 per litre, while diesel prices have increased to ₹93.15 per litre.

Speaking about the hike, the operator of a Nayara petrol pump on VIP Road in the city said, “We were informed last night that the petrol price will increase by ₹5 and the diesel price will increase by ₹3. The supply from the company is continuing, but it takes some time as vehicles are being filled there and then coming here. Also, there is no rush of people as such, and there is no panic among the public.”

Fuel marketing companies in the country have been facing pressure, but the retail prices of petrol and diesel have remained unchanged despite nearly a 50% jump in international oil prices since February 28, when the United States and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran, leading to strong retaliation from Tehran.

Nayara Energy, which operates 6,967 petrol pumps out of India’s total 1,02,075 outlets, has decided to pass on a portion of the higher input costs to consumers, a PTI report said.

Meanwhile, state-run fuel retailers, which together control around 90% of the market, have continued to keep retail fuel prices unchanged.

Retail prices of petrol and diesel have largely remained frozen since April 2022, with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) absorbing losses when crude prices rise and recovering margins when rates fall.

Last week, these three state-run companies increased the price of premium petrol by ₹2 per litre and raised the rate of bulk diesel supplied to industrial consumers by about ₹22 per litre, while keeping prices of regular petrol and diesel unchanged. DeshGujarat