LPG price hiked yet again

By Our Special Correspondent

To worsen the financial burden of the common man, oil marketing companies on Wednesday hiked the price of cooking gas by Rs 50 per cylinder. This was the eighth increase in the last one year and the cumulative increase reached Rs 244 on Wednesday.

Non-subsidized LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

Non-subsidized LPG costs Rs 1,002.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Mumbai while it is priced at Rs 1,018.50 a bottle in Chennai and Rs 1,029 in Kolkata. Notably, the price of commercial cylinders (19 kg) used in restaurants has been reduced by Rs 8.50. The unrelenting increase in cooking gas prices could have wider ramifications as 70% households use LPG as primary cooking fuel.

This is the fourth increase in the rate of cooking gas since the Russia-Ukraine war started. Oil retailers increased LPG price by Rs 50 each on March 22 and May 7.

They affected another hike of Rs 3.50 on May 19. There has been no revision on petrol and diesel prices for the past three months. The price of transport fuel remains untouched since the record Rs 10 per litre increase in just 16 days beginning March 22, 2022.

International oil prices have been on the rise this year. They jumped to a 13-year high of $140 per barrel in March before shedding some of the gains. Brent was trading at $110.13 per barrel on Thursday.

Cooking gas LPG price was on Thursday hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates.

On May 21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cut the excise duty by Rs 8 per litre on petrol and `6 on diesel. She also announced Rs 200 subsidy per cylinder for nine crore poor women and other beneficiaries who got free connections under the Ujjwala scheme.

On Wednesday, an oil ministry official stated that the Saudi LPG prices have gone up by 33 per cent while domestic rates have increased by only 11 per cent.

Experts believe the hike was necessitated because retail selling price is not in tandem with that of crude oil. The latest price hike has drawn criticism from the Opposition parties.

The Congress termed it an “anti-people” decision and said the BJP-led government at the Centre is running a “bulldozer of inflation” over people’s budget.