Petroleum Prices Will Not Come Down in India Right Now

June 21, 2026

As soon as the agreement between the US and Iran was reached, and the war was declared over, ordinary people began to hope that the prices of petrol, diesel, and gas would soon decrease, and that the inflation boost caused by the rise in commercial cylinders would perhaps be mitigated.

Suresh Gopi, India’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Tourism, responded that while the war is over, the Strait of Hormuz has opened, and international crude oil prices have fallen significantly, this does not mean that India will immediately benefit from it.

He argued that the fuel price hike was not solely due to supply disruptions but also due to several other factors. A major reason was the record losses suffered by petroleum companies. The government even cut its revenues to control prices.

The government has suffered a loss of Rs 12,000 crore. The losses suffered by petroleum companies will have long-term impacts.

Crude oil prices have now fallen to $78 per barrel, but it takes time to transport crude oil to India via the Strait of Hormuz. The supply of this cheap oil will not immediately impact the Indian market. Furthermore, the government must also cover its revenue losses. Petroleum companies must also recover from the record financial losses they have suffered, so there is no immediate possibility of a reduction in oil and gas prices.

Whether the reduction will occur after some time cannot be predicted, as ordinary Indian citizens have experienced that once the price of a commodity rises, it becomes difficult to bring it down.

In terms of inflation, India has already been hit by inflation despite not being involved in this war. The government must be vigilant to prevent further shocks.

Currently, 13 Indian ships are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. Recently, a ship named _Disha_, carrying 62,370 metric tons of LNG, departed from Hormuz for India on June 15th with 62,370 metric tons of LNG.

However, 13 Indian ships are currently at the Strait of Hormuz, and 20 other ships carrying oil, gas, and fertilizer are stranded in other waters of West Asia and will now be safely brought to India. Even after this, supplies will gradually return to normal.

The truth is, supplies will not be smooth at this time.