India's Petrol and Diesel Prices Hit a Four-Year High After Four Hikes in Two Weeks

• India has raised petrol prices by Rs 2.61 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.71 in its fourth fuel price revision in less than two weeks.
• The hikes follow a near four-year freeze and are driven by a more than 50% surge in global crude oil prices since late February 2026.

Monday morning brought yet another unwelcome announcement for Indian drivers. Petrol prices rose by Rs 2.61 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.71 per litre, marking the fourth fuel price increase in less than two weeks.

When you add it all up, cumulative increases have now neared Rs 7.5 per litre since price revisions resumed on 15 May, after an extended freeze that had kept rates largely unchanged for almost four years.

For anyone who fills up regularly, whether in a family hatchback or a long-haul truck, that is a meaningful hit to the wallet in a very short space of time.

City-Wise Rates Following the 25 May Revision

In Delhi, petrol moved from Rs 99.51 to Rs 102.12 per litre, while diesel climbed from Rs 92.49 to Rs 95.20 per litre.

In Mumbai, petrol now stands at Rs 111.21 per litre and diesel at Rs 97.83. Kolkata saw petrol reach Rs 113.51 per litre alongside diesel at Rs 99.82, while Chennai's petrol is priced at Rs 107.77 per litre and diesel at Rs 99.55.

As always, rates vary between states owing to differences in local taxation.

How Four Hikes Unfolded Over Ten Days

The sequence of increases has been rapid by any standard.

• On 15 May, both petrol and diesel were raised by Rs 3 per litre each.
• A further revision on 19 May added 90 paise per litre across both fuels.
• On 23 May, petrol went up by another 87 paise and diesel by 91 paise.
• The 25 May round was the largest single increase since the revisions began, and it pushed prices to their highest levels since May 2022.

Petrol Price Charts, Delhi Progression and 8-City Rates

The charts below capture India's rapid fuel price escalation through May 2026. The upper chart tracks Delhi's petrol price across all four revision dates since 15 May, rising from Rs 96.51 to Rs 102.12 per litre.

The lower chart presents a city-wise comparison of petrol rates across eight major cities following the fourth revision on 25 May, sorted from lowest to highest.

Hyderabad recorded the steepest rate at Rs 115.69 per litre, while Delhi remained the most affordable among the cities surveyed.

Figure 1. Top: Delhi petrol price trajectory from Rs 96.51 (pre-revision baseline) to Rs 102.12 across four hikes, 15–25 May 2026. Bottom: City-wise petrol rates as of 25 May 2026 across eight major Indian cities; Hyderabad highest at Rs 115.69/litre, Delhi lowest at Rs 102.12/litre. Variations reflect differing state VAT structures.

City-Wise Petrol Rates as of 25 May 2026

The table below lists petrol prices across eight major cities following the fourth revision, along with the primary taxation factor driving the rate in each case.

The Global Forces Driving Prices Higher at the Pump

The sharp upward movement in pump prices does not exist in isolation. Global crude oil prices have climbed by more than 50 per cent since late February 2026, a surge triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran and serious disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for the world's oil supplies.

A weakening rupee has compounded the problem further, raising the cost of imports for India's oil marketing companies.

State-run retailers Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation together control roughly 90 per cent of the country's fuel retail market and bore the brunt of these rising input costs.

Despite those pressures building over the first two and a half months of the conflict, the companies had kept retail prices unchanged with the intention of shielding consumers from inflationary strain.

Private Retailers Had Already Moved Before the State-Run Hikes Began

India's private fuel retailers did not wait. Nayara Energy had raised petrol prices by Rs 5 per litre and diesel by Rs 3 per litre back in March.

Shell went further still, increasing petrol by Rs 7.41 per litre and diesel by up to Rs 25 per litre from 1 April.

Jio-BP, the joint venture between Reliance Industries and BP, chose to align its pump prices with those of the state-run companies rather than moving independently.

What Lies Ahead for Indian Fuel Buyers

With global crude remaining elevated and no clear resolution to the West Asian crisis in sight, further price adjustments cannot be ruled out.

For now, Indian motorists are contending with the highest fuel costs the country has seen in four years, and the pace at which those costs have arrived has left very little time to adjust.

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