The government hiked the price of petrol and diesel on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) by about 90 paise per litre across the country. This was the second increase in five days following the ₹3 upward revision last Friday (May 15) after four years.

The price of petrol in Delhi is up by 87 paise to ₹98.64/litre, while that of diesel by 91 paise to ₹91.58/litre.

On Monday, the government had said that losses being incurred by oil-marketing companies (OMCs) from LPG, petrol and diesel combined have come down by ₹250 crore to ₹750 crore per day following the ₹3 hike. The government said it was not considering a bailout package for OMCs.

The premium variant of diesel, XG of Indian Oil, is now priced ₹96.90/litre following a 91-paise hike; high-octane petrol, XP95, is dearer by 87 paise and costs ₹105.76/litre.

The steepest hike was in Kolkata – in comparison to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai – where the price of petrol was hiked by 96 paise to ₹109.70/litre and that of diesel by 94 paise to ₹96.07/litre.

Petrol in Mumbai is being sold at ₹107.59/litre after a 91-paise hike and diesel for ₹94.08 after a 94-paise increase.

In Chennai, petrol and diesel prices were revised upwards by 82 paise and 86 paise. They are now priced at ₹104.49/litre and ₹96.11/litre respectively.

New price of petrol and diesel in major cities

‘OMCs making losses’

The latest increase is the second of such price hikes indicative of pressure on retail fuel as the benchmark brent crude futures continue to soar amid tensions in West Asia.

Sourav Mitra, partner for oil and gas at Grant Thorton Bharat, said while the latest increase provides “incremental relief” to the OMCs, it may not be sufficient to fully cushion the stress.

“With crude sustaining above $100 per barrel and the India rupee weakening, both of which increase the landed cost of imports, OMCs continue to operate under materially significant cost pressure, with currency depreciation alone potentially offsetting substantial amount of gains from the price revisions,” said Mr. Mitra.

Als

India’s crude oil basket until May 18 since the start of the month has averaged $107.3 per barrel, according to government data. In the early evening hours of Tuesday, brent crude futures (July) were trading 1.06% lower than its previous close at $110.9 per barrel.

Speaking to The Hindu, Prashant Vashisht, senior vice-president and co-group head, corporate ratings at ICRA Ltd., said that should benchmark brent crude futures oscillate between $105 and $110 per barrel, based on a 10-year average between the price of crude oil and the refined petroleum products, the latest price increase would help curtail the existing losses of OMCs from domestic LPG, petrol and diesel to ₹450 crore per day.

Responding to a query about adjusting for OMC losses and fears about inflation, Mr. Vashisht said, “The losses being made at present are unsustainable. The OMCs are opting for graded increase so that there is no shock,” he stated, adding, “Inflation may concur but the losses [of OMCs] are unsustainable.”

Previous hike was staggered

The ₹3 per litre hike on Friday was the first major fuel price increase by more than ₹1 per litre since April 2022.

Back then, a ₹9 per litre hike was executed in a staggered manner between March 28, 2022, and April 6, 2022. It coincided with the peak of Russian military action in Ukraine. According to government data, India’s crude oil basket averaged $112.87 per barrel and $102.97 per barrel in March and April of 2022.