India hikes jet fuel, commercial LPG cost

AFP | New Delhi

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India’s oil ministry said yesterday that domestic jet fuel prices would rise as the Middle East war pushed up energy costs, but that it had cushioned airlines from an expected 100% jump.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) makes up a substantial chunk of airlines’ expenses, and sustained increases could translate into higher airfares.

State-run refiner Indian Oil Corporation said that ATF prices rose by 8.5% in the capital Delhi, with similar rises in other major cities.

“Due to the closure of Strait of Hormuz, and extraordinary situation in global energy markets, price of ATF for domestic markets was expected to increase by more than 100 percent on April 1,” the Ministry of Petroleum said in a statement.

But the ministry said it had “passed only a partial and staggered increase of 25%” to airlines in order to “insulate the domestic travel costs from the substantial increase in international prices”.

Foreign travel routes “will pay for the full increase in ATF prices consistent with what they pay in other parts of the world”, it added.

Commercial cooking liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) gas prices have also risen.

For commercial LPG, 19-kilogramme (42-pound) cooking gas cylinder prices increased by around 200 rupees ($2.13) on average across four key cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

Domestic household LPG prices were left unchanged in this round of revisions.