How the Petrol and Diesel Price Hike Is Set to Hit the Wallets of Delhi-NCR Commuters and Metro City Residents | Explained

Petrol, diesel Nears ₹100 Mark in Major Cities After Sudden Price Hike:  India’s commuters have woken up to a full-blown fuel shock on Friday morning. After four years of keeping petrol and diesel prices at bay, the government has suddenly started revving the accelerator on fuel costs with a ₹3 per litre hike across the country. For middle-class families already grappling with ballooning EMIs and grocery bills, and for office-goers, cabbies, and delivery riders, it feels more like a budget ambush than a price revision. Petrol prices in Delhi are now speeding toward ₹98 per litre, while in cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad, rates have comfortably crossed the ₹100 mark. And just to spice up the daily commute, even Delhi’s CNG prices have also been hiked.

City-Wise Petrol Prices After Latest Fuel Hike

Why Did Petrol And Diesel Suddenly Get So Expensive?

India’s fuel prices didn’t wake up overnight and choose a roller-coaster ride on their own; there is a full-blown international energy drama going on in the background. The real cause is the deepening crisis in West Asia. The flare-up around the world’s busiest oil shipping channel, the Strait of Hormuz, has rattled liquid crude supplies worldwide. Because such a massive chunk of the world’s oil passes through that waterway, even a small disruption has caused global fuel markets to spiral into chaos. Worse still, international crude oil prices have skyrocketed, and Brent crude oil is reportedly hovering above the alarming range of $105–$120 per barrel. That means refining, importing, and distributing fuel are becoming drastically more expensive.

At home, state-owned oil companies like IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL had supposedly been bearing this burden for weeks to ease pressure on consumers. But the losses were piling up to unbearable levels, and price stability was no longer feasible. India’s lack of diversification, with nearly 85–90% of the country’s crude oil coming from imports, also aggravated the problem as the Rupee weakened against the US Dollar. And, of course, timing was everything. Fuel prices were allegedly kept in check during the recent elections, and the long-delayed correction arrived immediately afterward.