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India will not be raising the retail price of petrol, despite benchmark crude oil prices breaching $100 per barrel on Monday (March 9, 2026), a highly placed source in the Union government said.
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“We have never increased retail prices during such upward fluctuations in the past,” they stated, adding, “[At present], OMCs have enough cushion and are financially comfortable.” Further, a top executive of a major domestic oil marketing company (OMC), also assured they were not experiencing any price pressure because of the upward pressure on crude prices.
At the time of writing (7:35 p.m. IST), benchmark Brent Crude futures (May 2026) have spiked 11.7% since their previous close and were trading at $103.51 for per barrel. Intraday, the benchmark had peaked to $119.5 for per barrel, scaling levels last reached during the commencement of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Petrol prices had been largely untouched when the benchmark peaked to such levels between May and end-June 2022. Crude futures oscillated between $109.51 and $116.01 for every barrel during that period. However, petrol prices remained at ₹96.72 per litre in Delhi.
‘Enough ATF in stock’
The government source also said India has “enough” aviation turbine fuel (ATF) stocks, without disclosing the quantity.
Gap for booking LPG refill increased
Separately, in a social media post, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) informed it would prioritise domestic liquified petroleum gas (LPG) supply to households, and has mandated a 25-day interim period between booking two cylinders to avoid hoarding and/or black marketing.
The Ministry also said, ‘Non domestic supplies from imported LPG is being prioritised to essential sectors such as Hospitals and Educational institutions.’
Seeking to allay concerns over shortage of LPG supply to other commercial sectors, such as restaurants and hotels, the MoPNG said it has constituted a committee of three executive directors of oil marketing companies to “review the representations for LPG supply and try to provide some volumes to them.”
On March 6, invoking the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the government sought all public sector OMCs to maximise LPG production and that it be supplied or marketed solely to consumers of domestic LPG. “All oil refining companies operating in India shall maximise and ensure that propane and butane streams produced, recovered, fractionated or otherwise available with them are utilised for production of LPG and make it available to the three public sector oil marketing companies,” the order read.
Senior officials in the government have stated that India has adequate LPG in stock, with more stocks being lined up and arriving. “There is absolutely no need to press the alarm button,” the senior official stated.
Published – March 09, 2026 09:51 pm IST
