Will petrol and diesel prices increase soon? This question is in the minds of many people. The reason for this is the recent increase in crude oil prices. Crude oil prices have once again crossed $100 per barrel. This has increased the pressure on the government. For the last 70 days, state-run oil companies have been incurring losses of around ₹1,000 crore every day.
Prices may increase before May 15
According to a report in *The Economic Times*, the government may take some tough economic decisions after the end of the state assembly elections. According to a report by *India Today TV*, citing sources, prices of petrol and diesel may increase before May 15. The main reason behind this is the rapidly increasing losses incurred by government oil marketing companies.
Crude oil prices cross $100
The conflict between America and Iran started on February 28. On February 27, crude oil prices were at $72 per barrel. Today, the price (of Brent crude) has crossed the $100 per barrel mark. India is the only major country that has not yet increased the retail prices of petrol and diesel. Countries like China, UK, Norway, Germany and Netherlands have already increased petrol prices by up to 27 percent.
These countries have already increased petrol prices by 27 percent
Japan, South Korea, Spain and Italy have raised gasoline prices even higher, by 30 percent or more. In India, oil marketing companies are currently incurring a loss of ₹30 per liter on diesel and ₹24 per liter on petrol. To provide relief, the government had earlier reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel; However, the move has imposed a financial burden of ₹1,70,000 crore on the government.
Huge losses to government oil companies
The total loss of state oil marketing companies due to selling petrol and diesel at prices below their actual cost had reached ₹30,000 crore by the end of April. By the end of June this loss could reach ₹50,000 crore. There has been a loss of about ₹20,000 crore due to selling gas below cost. Currently, India has 5.33 million tonnes of petroleum reserves, which is enough for about 15 days. The government is planning to expand these reserves. India needs to import about 20,000 tonnes of crude oil per day.