The country’s largest private fuel retailer Nayara Energy on Wednesday cut petrol prices by ₹ 5 per liter and diesel by ₹ 3 per liter across its nationwide network. This is the first cut in retail prices of fuel by any company in the last two years.
Crude oil prices have come down due to reduced tension in the Middle East. Industry sources have confirmed that the new prices have been implemented at over 7,000 Nayara fuel stations across the country. Actual prices at petrol pumps may vary from state to state, depending on local taxes such as VAT.
However, government fuel retailers have not made any change in their prices. Public sector companies – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) – have not changed their prices. These three companies together operate more than 90 percent of India’s more than 1,00,000 fuel stations.
**Increase in March**
Petrol prices at IOC outlets in Delhi remain at ₹102.12 per liter and diesel at ₹95.20 per litre. When international oil prices rose due to the Iran dispute, Nayara was one of the first retailers to increase fuel prices; On March 26, it had increased petrol prices by ₹5 per liter and diesel by ₹3 per litre. Government retailers followed suit and raised the prices of both petrol and diesel by a combined ₹7.50 per liter in a series of changes in the second half of May.
**Will other companies also reduce petrol prices?**
With Wednesday’s move, Nayara has reversed the price hike it made in March. This is the first sign that Indian customers may get fuel at lower prices after the global oil market stabilized in recent weeks. Sources said that after the completion of maintenance work at the refinery, Nayara is fully prepared to meet the demand and is utilizing its entire network to meet the country’s consumption needs. Nayara operates a 20 million tonne per annum oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat.
