Now, spend Rs 25 more for cooking gas

CHENNAI: After a three-month lull, oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Thursday raised the price of domestic LPG by Rs 25.50 a cylinder, taking prices for both subsidised and unsubsidised consumers to Rs 834.50 (Delhi). In Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata, unsubsidised prices rose to Rs 850.50, Rs 834.50, and Rs 861, respectively.

The OMCs have not officially released the price notification but industry sources confirmed the price hike. LPG prices have soared a sharp 40% from Rs 594 per cylinder in November 2020 to Rs 834.50 at present. Compared to the steep rise in petrol and diesel prices in the past year, where prices have touched the Rs 100/litremark in many places, LPG rates have been increased seven times between December 2020 and now, but revised downward just once.

Prices were cut by Rs 10 on April 1, ahead of the Assembly polls in five states. The latest price rise in domestic cooking gas has been primarily driven by the recovery in global crude oil prices, which have reached pre-pandemic levels after sinking to multi-decade lows in April last year.

Unsubsidised LPG prices are now higher by Rs 28 compared to pre-pandemic levels. It works out to be costlier by Rs 231 for subsidised consumers as the government eliminated most DBT LPG subsidies when crude prices tanked last May, but did not restore them when oil prices rose.

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