When will petrol prices come down? Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri breaks silence

NEW DELHI: When crude oil prices skyrocketed during the war in the Middle East, India initially showed restraint by not increasing the fuel prices. The loss suffered by the public sector oil companies due to this decision was Rs 74,781 crore. This is the total loss in the sale of petrol, diesel and LPG, says Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. When quizzed on whether the government had arrived at a decision to cut fuel prices, Puri said that such a circumstance is unlikely at the moment.

Despite the current decline in oil prices in the international market, the minister said that companies are still refining crude oil purchased at high prices during the crisis. The companies suffered huge losses in the initial phase of the war. The minister added that not a single one of the 1,07,000 retail outlets of the public sector oil companies in the country was closed due to the fuel crisis.

Hardeep Singh Puri also said that companies will be able to sell oil without loss only if sales continue at the current price for at least three months. The minister pointed out that during the crisis, while petrol prices increased by about 20 per cent in developed countries and 35 per cent in India's neighbouring countries, it was controlled to just 5.58 per cent in India.

"We are using the crude petroleum stock that was purchased at a high price two months ago. If this decline in prices continues for the next two to three months, we can think about reducing prices," said Hardeep Singh Puri. The minister also clarified that price reduction can be considered only if the global oil prices continue to fall in the coming weeks.