Prices of petrol and diesel rose for the third time in a span of eight days on Saturday (May 23, 2026), this time by an average 90 paise per litre across the country and across all variants.
Further, the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) in varied parts of North India also rose for the third time during the same interval by ₹1 per kg.
With the latest hike, price of petrol in Delhi increased 87 paise to ₹99.51 per litre and that of diesel rose 91 paise to ₹92.49 for every litre.
CNG in the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi is now priced at ₹81.09 per kg.
Since the first in the series of hikes effected May 15, price of both retail fuels, that is, diesel and petrol, cumulatively have risen by approximately ₹4.8 per litre in three tranches across the country.
The first of these hikes increased the price of the two retail fuels by ₹3 per litre. Thereafter, prices have spurred by an average 90 paise per litre twice, that is, on May 19 and the latest being Saturday (May 23).
The hikes follow increased pressure on OMCs amidst elevating prices of crude oil as energy supplies continue to be marred because of the conflict in West Asia.
Following the first ₹3 per litre, the government had informed that OMCs continued to make losses from the sale of diesel, petrol and LPG, although the hike would help curtail about ₹250 crore of losses it was making per day. Thus, bringing them down to approximately ₹750 crore per day.
As happened in the other instances, Saturday’s (May 23, 2026) hike also extended to premium and high-octane variants of diesel and petrol respectively. The premium variant of diesel rose 91 paise to ₹97.81 per litre in Delhi. The high-octane variant of petrol, that is, XP95, would now be sold at ₹106.63 following an 87 paise hike.
Steeper hike in Kolkata
Kolkata woke up to a comparatively steeper hike compared to other metros, that is, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.
In fact, Chennai observed moderate hikes as compared to the other metro cities though final prices stayed around the same level.
Effective Saturday (May 23, 2026), the price of petrol in Kolkata would be 94 paise more expensive at ₹110.64 per litre. Diesel also became 95 paise more expensive at ₹97.02 per litre.
Price of petrol in Mumbai increased 90 paise to ₹108.49 per litre, while that of diesel spurred 94 paise to ₹95.02 per litre.
Price of petrol in Chennai rose 82 paise to ₹105.31 per litre effective on Saturday (May 23, 2026). Meanwhile, diesel became 87 paise more expensive at ₹96.98 per litre.
Petrol and diesel prices as on May 23, 2026
| City | Petrol | Diesel |
| Delhi | ₹99.51 | ₹92.49 |
| Mumbai | ₹108.49 | ₹95.02 |
| Kolkata | ₹110.64 | ₹97.02 |
| Chennai | ₹105.31 | ₹96.98 |
CNG hike in varied parts of North India
Prices of CNG have also increased for the third time since May 15 across several cities of North India spanning Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana alongside Delhi.
With the latest ₹1 per kg hike, CNG is now available in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad and Noida at ₹89.70 per kg, and Meerut at ₹89.58 per kg.
Further, the effective price of CNG in Rajasthan’s Ajmer is now ₹90.44 per kg.
Meanwhile, in Haryana’s Rewari and Gurugram the revised price is now at ₹85.70 per kg and ₹86.12 per kg respectively.
In an earlier statement (May 17), Indraprastha Gas Ltd whilst informing about the price increase then, had stated the hikes were meant to marginally offset the impact from the rise in input gas costs.
Crude oil pressures
Prices of retail fuel are entangled in elevated pressure from the benchmark brent crude being constantly above the $100 per barrel-mark.
India’s crude oil basket in May has averaged $107.96 per barrel until Friday.
Further, the benchmark brent crude futures (July) had settled about 1.63% higher than its previous close at $104.25 for every barrel Friday. Prices remained volatile through the week amidst mixed signals of peace talks between United States and Iran.
Bengaluru petrol at ₹108.09, diesel at ₹95.99 after fresh fuel price hike
Fuel prices in Bengaluru witnessed another increase on Saturday (May 23, 2026) after oil marketing companies raised petrol and diesel prices for the third time in eight days. Prices across all fuel variants were increased by an average of 90 paise per litre.
With the latest revision, petrol in Bengaluru is now priced at ₹108.09 per litre, up from ₹107.14 on Friday. Diesel prices have also gone up to ₹95.99 per litre from ₹95.04 per litre.
Published – May 23, 2026 06:46 am IST
