Retail fuel prices displayed at a fuel station in Chümoukedima on May 23, following the third round of petrol and diesel price hikes announced by Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies across India on May 23. (Morung Photo)
Cumulative increase nears Rs 5 per litre since mid-May
Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 23
Petrol prices, which once again crossed the psychological Rs 100-per-litre mark across Nagaland this week, became dearer on Saturday as State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) announced another round of hikes in retail fuel rates.
Compared to the previous rates, prices of regular petrol and diesel were increased by around 87–91 paise per litre on May 23.
In Dimapur, diesel was retailing at Rs 92.50 per litre on Saturday, up by nearly Rs 5 since the first hike took effect on May 15. Diesel in Dimapur was priced at Rs 88 per litre till May 14.
Similarly, petrol prices in Dimapur, which stood at Rs 96.66 per litre on May 14, rose to Rs 101.01 on May 23, indicating a cumulative increase of Rs 4.35 in just over a week.
In Nagaland, retail fuel prices are cheapest in Dimapur and adjoining Chümoukedima district. Here, the petrol crossed the psychological Rs 100-per-litre threshold during the second hike on May 19.
Premium diesel and petrol were meanwhile retailing at Rs 97.79 and Rs 107.20 per litre respectively.
According to data available on the IndianOil One App, an online platform operated by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), diesel in Kohima was retailing at Rs 93.30 per litre, while petrol was priced at Rs 102.14.
The highest retail fuel prices in the State were recorded in Kiphire at Rs 103.26 per litre for petrol and Rs 94.70 for diesel, followed closely by Tuensang, Shamator and Noklak with marginal differences.
As per PTI, the latest increase in fuel rates comes as State-owned firms passed on soaring international oil prices to consumers.
The prices of compressed natural gas (CNG) were also raised by Re 1 per kg, marking the third increase in recent days and taking the cumulative hike to Rs 4 per kg.
The back-to-back increases follow a prolonged freeze in retail fuel prices and come amid elevated crude oil prices in the global market, tightening refining margins, and a weaker rupee, all of which have sharply increased import costs, the report added.
The crisis in West Asia and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit route, have also been attributed to the current volatility in global crude oil prices.
The PTI report, quoting rating agency Crisil, noted that OMCs were losing about Rs 10 per litre on petrol and Rs 13 per litre on diesel even after the earlier hikes.
With the latest revision, fuel prices are nearing levels last seen in early November 2021, when rates had reached record highs.
According to The Morung Express database, petrol in Dimapur was retailing at Rs 108.34 per litre on November 3, 2021, while diesel stood at Rs 100.60.
The Union Government subsequently announced cuts in Central Excise Duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively, effective from November 4, 2021.
This was followed by an additional Rs 7 cut in Value Added Tax (VAT) by the State Government.
As a result, petrol and diesel prices came down to Rs 96.92 and Rs 83.68 per litre respectively.
Although prices saw upward revisions thereafter, another round of excise duty cuts announced by the Union Government in May 2022 led to further reductions. Fuel prices then largely remained frozen until a Rs 2 cut ahead of the elections in May 2024.
In Nagaland, however, petrol and diesel became more expensive following revised tax rates that came into effect from midnight of June 30, 2024. The revised rates remained in force until the latest round of hikes began on May 15, 2026.
Retail fuel prices comprise the base price charged to dealers, freight charges, excise duty, average dealer commission, and VAT, including VAT on dealer commission.
These rates differ across states and may also vary between locations within the same state.
Meanwhile, the Public Sector OMCs IndianOil, BPCL and HPCL announced on Saturday that the availability of petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) remains “adequate and uninterrupted” across Nagaland.
“The overall supply position in Nagaland is stable,” the companies said in a statement issued via PIB Kohima.
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