The price of commercial liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders was slashed by Rs 115.50 on November 1. A 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 1,744 in the national capital.
This is the first price fluctuation in commercial LPG cylinder prices by oil marketing companies (OMCs) since the prices were last raised in May. OMCs usually announce LPG price change at the beginning and middle of each month.
There is no change in the price of the 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder, which now cost Rs 1,053, as per the price notification from state-owned fuel retailers.
The price of a 19-kg commercial cylinder will now be Rs 1,846 in Kolkata, Rs 1,696 in Mumbai and Rs 1,893 in Chennai. You can look for the price in each city and district here.
Meanwhile, News agency reported that OMCs may also cut petrol and diesel prices by 40 paise from November 1.
According to the report, a reduction in oil prices by 40 paise is likely to occur daily for the next five days. That will bring a total reduction of Rs 2 in petrol and diesel prices in instalments.
OMCs suffer losses
Indian Oil Corporation had on October 29 reported a net loss of Rs 272.35 crore for the July-September quarter (Q2) despite booking over Rs 10,800 crore of government LPG subsidy, on the back of selling petrol, diesel below cost.
The net loss of Rs 272.35 crore compares to a profit of Rs 6,360.05 crore in July-September 2021, according to a company's filing with the stock exchanges.
The decline comes on the back of a Rs 1,992.53-crore loss incurred in the previous April-June quarter. This is the first time that IOC has booked losses in two straight quarters as it sold petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) at rates below cost.
IOC, as well as other state-owned fuel retailers, had booked heavy losses in the first quarter of the current fiscal and did not revise petrol, diesel and cooking gas LPG prices in line with the cost to help the government contain runaway inflation.
The three firms, who are supposed to revise petrol and diesel prices daily in line with the cost, did not change rates for over six-and-half-months now – the longest freeze in rates since fuel pricing was deregulated.
