Nayara Energy Raises Fuel Prices by Five Rupees for Petrol and Three Rupees for Diesel

Nayara Energy, India's largest private fuel retailer, raised petrol prices by five rupees per litre and diesel by three rupees with effect from the early hours of Saturday, October 3, 2026. The company operates 7,108 petrol pumps across the country and a 20 million-tonne-a-year refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat. Sources said the latest increase aims to narrow the gap between retail prices and rising international oil and refined-product costs amid renewed pressure from higher global energy prices.

Background

Earlier this year, Nayara was the first fuel retailer to raise prices when the Iran conflict disrupted energy supplies, hiking petrol by five rupees and diesel by three rupees on March 26. State-owned fuel retailers later raised their prices in May. Nayara subsequently reversed its March increase on July 1 after international crude prices eased as tensions in West Asia subsided. Meanwhile, state-owned oil marketing companies control more than 90 percent of the country's 104,137 fuel pumps and have kept prices relatively stable.

Government Action

On October 1, the government told private retailers not to cap petrol and diesel sales at their outlets after Nayara and Jio-bp restricted volumes at some pumps due to retail losses. Officials noted that the price gap between retail and bulk diesel encouraged industrial consumers to buy cheaper fuel from retail pumps. Jio-bp, a joint venture of Reliance Industries and bp, operates 2,304 petrol pumps and has not revised its fuel prices so far. Rating agency Icra estimated last month that oil marketing companies incurred negative marketing margins of around eight rupees per litre on petrol and nine rupees per litre on diesel in September.

Context

Global crude oil prices directly influence domestic fuel costs in India because the country imports a large share of its energy needs. When international prices rise sharply, fuel refiners and retailers face heavy financial losses if they keep domestic pump prices unchanged. Private retailers often adjust prices faster than state-run companies to protect their profit margins during such energy market disruptions.