Since the softening of crude oil prices in the international market, this question is arising in the minds of the general public that why are the prices of petrol and diesel not decreasing in India? Today, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri himself has clarified the situation on this big question. According to the PTI report, the Union Minister said that even though global oil prices have come down, government oil marketing companies (OMCs) are still processing the crude oil which was purchased at expensive prices at the peak of the West Asia crisis and war.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri made a big revelation while presenting the financial accounts of oil companies to the country. He told that during the West Asia crisis, to save the general public from the blow of inflation, the government oil companies sold fuel at a price below the cost. For this reason, in the period till June 30, oil companies had to suffer a huge loss of ₹ 74,781 crore due to selling petrol, diesel and LPG at low prices. Due to this loss of the companies and the expensive crude purchased earlier, the prices are not being reduced immediately.
Despite the crisis, there was no oil shortage in India
Hardeep Singh Puri said that between 2022 and 2026, there has been a slight increase of only 5.58% in the prices of petrol and 6.23% in diesel in India. He proudly said that our financial system absorbed the shock of rising crude oil prices and did not allow huge increases in fuel prices for consumers. He further said that there was no oil drought anywhere in the country during the entire crisis months of March, April, May and June. Fuel supply continued smoothly across India without any disruption, shortage or long queues at petrol pumps.
So will petrol and diesel become cheaper in the coming days?
When the Union Minister was directly asked whether the prices of petrol and diesel would be cut in future, he expressed a positive expectation. Hardeep Singh Puri said that if the prices of crude oil in the international market remain at such low levels for the next few weeks, then it would be a legitimate and valid question to consider cutting the prices. That is, if the softness in the global market continues, then the general public may get relief in the coming times.
Also read- Petrol became cheaper by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 3, Naira Energy reduced the prices – new rates came into effect from today.
SK Sharma is a content writer who writes on news, entertainment, and lifestyle topics. She has over four years of experience and is known for conveying information in simple and clear language.
