Diesel price for bulk customers hiked by Rs 25/liter
The price of diesel sold to bulk users has been raised by about Rs 25 per liter to reflect a nearly 40% increase in international oil rates, news agency PTI has reported. However, retail prices at petrol pumps have remained unchanged. The decision comes as petrol and diesel prices in India have remained unchanged for the last 136 days.
Following the hike in diesel prices for bulk customers, one liter of diesel now costs Rs 122.05 in Mumbai, up from the previous price of Rs 94.14. Meanwhile, diesel prices for bulk customers in Delhi have been raised by Rs 25 to Rs 115/liter. For regular users, the fuel is currently selling at Rs 86.67/liter at the petrol pumps.
Petrol pump sales increased by a fifth in March 2022, as commercial users bought diesel in retail rather than the usual practice of ordering directly from the private oil companies. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said last week that fuel sales had increased by 20% due to stockpiling in anticipation of a price increase after the conclusion of the state assembly elections.
Despite a rise in global oil and fuel prices, PSU oil companies have not raised retail prices of petrol and diesel since November 4, 2021, a move seen to have helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent state elections. This has led to severe losses for private retailers such as Nayara Energy, Jio-bp, and Shell, especially amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Private retailers are forced to maintain their petrol and diesel prices because they would lose customers if their rates were higher than the PSU companies such as Bharat Petroleum. The huge price difference of Rs 25 per liter between the bulk user rate and the petrol pump price will further push users to refuel from petrol pumps and widen the losses of oil companies.
"There is a massive surge of demand at fuel stations (retail outlets) due to increased rate of Rs 25 between the retail and industrial price of diesel, leading to heavy diversion of bulk diesel to retail outlets," PTI quoted a Jio-BP representative as saying.
