New Delhi/ Bhubaneswar: The price of domestic cooking gas LPG has been raised by Rs 29 per cylinder, the second hike in three months as state-owned fuel retailers continue to face high global energy costs.
The price of a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder in Delhi will increase to Rs 942 from Rs 913 with effect from June 7, according to industry sources. Similarly, the revised price reached Rs 968 in Bhubaneswar, which was Rs 939 earlier.
The latest increase comes after a Rs 60-per-cylinder hike on March 7, when the conflict in the Middle East disrupted global energy supplies and pushed up international fuel prices.
Industry sources said the March hike had only partly offset losses on domestic LPG sales. State-run oil marketing companies were estimated to be losing about Rs 703 on every LPG cylinder sold before the latest revision, the sources added. The LPG price hike is part of a broader round of fuel price increases.
Petrol and diesel prices have gone up by a cumulative Rs 7.50 per litre since mid-May, while compressed natural gas rates have increased by about Rs 6 per kg. Despite the recent hikes, oil companies continue to sell petrol and diesel below cost, incurring losses of around Rs 11 per litre on petrol and Rs 33.6 per litre on diesel, according to industry sources.
The government has so far avoided passing the full increase in international energy prices to consumers, with state-owned fuel retailers absorbing part of the hike as global crude oil and fuel markets remain volatile.
