LPG price hike of 6 percent likely to mount inflationary pressure

LPG price hike of 6 percent likely to mount inflationary pressure

ISLAMABAD: After increasing prices of other petroleum products, the government on Saturday also increased liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices by 5.95 percent to Rs2,002/cylinder for August 2021, which might jack up inflationary pressure on the economy.

Since LPG was considered the “poor man’s fuel” and was also used in majority of areas where system gas was not available, it might hit household budgets of a large part of the population.

LPG price has been on consecutive rise for the last several months. Saudi Aramco propane contract price also increased for the month of August 2021 by $40/tonne to $660/tonne. Price of Butane CP also increased by $35/tonne to $655/tonne. This is the third straight monthly increase and the highest so far this year.

Propane and butane are two major components of LPG, which the Middle Eastern oil producers sell to Asian countries.

According to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) notification, domestic LPG has been increased by R112.5/11.8kg cylinder from Rs1,889.57/cylinder in July. The new prices would come into effect from August 1 (today). The commercial cylinder (of 45.4kg) price has also been increased by 433/cylinder and would be sold at Rs7,703. According to a notification, LPG per kilogram price has been increased by Rs9.53/kg to Rs169.7/kg from the July price of Rs160.2/kg. Day before, Prime Minister’s aide Dr Shahbaz Gill also announced that petrol price was being increased by Rs1.71 per litre and Kerosene oil by 0.35 paisa/litre for the first fortnight of August 2021. Again, both fuels are used by common people, one is transportation while the latter is used by consumers for cooking purposes in areas having no system gas.

It is worth mentioning that for the second-half of July, the government had raised the petrol price by Rs5.40 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.54 per litre. Similarly, the prices of kerosene and light-diesel oil (LDO) have also been increased by Rs1.39 and Rs1.27 per litre respectively.

Earlier, for the first half of July, the government had increased petrol price by Rs2 per litre, diesel Rs1.44 per litre, kerosene by Rs3.86 per litre and that of LDO by Rs3.72 per litre. LPG Distributors Association of Pakistan Chairman Irfan Khokhar demanded the government recommence the activities of Jam Shoro Joint Venture (JJVL) and reduce taxes on LPG including levy on LPG. For the last 15 months, this plant has been closed and at the time of its closure its production was 15,000 tonnes per month.

The closure was costing around Rs1.58 billion to the economy, as the commodity was being imported to meet domestic demand.

Meanwhile, the association staged a protest in Gujranwala on Saturday against the manufacturing of substandard cylinders.

In response, Punjab governor intervened and formed a core committee, which closed down 600 factories producing substandard cylinders in the province. The association has postponed its protest till August 30, Khokar told The News.

“Over the last few years, around 7,500 people have lost lives due to accidents caused by low-quality cylinders,” Khokar informed.

Commercial LPG cylinders now costlier by ₹73.5, cooking gas rates unchanged

A commercial LPG cylinder in India is now costlier by ₹73.5, according to the latest price revision for August 1, posted on the official website of Indian Oil. However, even though the price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder saw a hike, there has been no increase in the price of the 14.2-kg domestic gas cylinders that are used in households for cooking.

Oil companies usually revise the price of LPG cylinders on the first date of every month. With the latest revision, a commercial 19-kg LPG cylinder in the national capital Delhi now costs ₹1,623, a significant hike from the earlier rate of ₹1,500. In Mumbai, the same cylinder now costs ₹1,579.5, while in Kolkata, it is priced at ₹1,629. Perhaps the highest of these prices among all the major metropolitan cities is in Chennai, where the same 19-kg LPG cylinder now costs ₹1,761 with the latest revision.

Last month, oil companies had hiked the price of domestic cylinders by ₹25.5, but it was spared this month.

The non-subsidised prices for domestic gas cylinders have been increasing over the past several years. While a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder in Delhi cost ₹487 on August 1, 2016, the same costs ₹834.5 now. The price of the same cooking gas cylinder costs ₹861 in Kolkata now, while the same is being sold at a rate of ₹834.5 in Mumbai and ₹850.5 in Chennai.

Petrol prices went drastically up over the recent months, with the fuel rate crossing ₹100 per litre in several major cities across the country. However, the petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged across the four metro cities for the past two weeks. Fuel rates vary across states due to the different tax rates, but petrol and diesel prices are currently the highest in Mumbai among all four metro cities.

LPG price hike! Price of 19 kg gas cylinder increased by Rs 73.5, check rates in your city

New Delhi: In yet another blow to the common man, petroleum and gas retailing firms have hiked the prices of 19 kg commercial LPG cylinders by Rs 73.5. The rates of 14.2 kg domestic cylinder have remained unchanged. The latest price revision will come into effect from Sunday (August 1).

With the latest hike in the prices, a 19 kg LPG gas cylinder is now retailing at Rs 1623.00 in Delhi while the rate of the commercial cylinder has been increased to Rs 1579.50 in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the price of the 19 kg LPG gas cylinder has been increased to Rs 1629.00 and Rs 1761.00 in Kolkata and Chennai, respectively. Oil and gas companies revise the prices of cooking gas on the 1st of every month.

While the rates of the domestic LPG cylinder has remained unchanged in August 2021, the prices were increased on the 1st of July by Rs 25.50. With the price hike in July, the price of 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder now stands at Rs 834.50 in Delhi, Rs 834.50 in Mumbai, Rs 861 in Kolkata and Rs 850.50 in Chennai.

In 2021, the prices of LPG gas cylinders have been increased by Rs 138.50. On January 1, 2021, a 14.2 Kg domestic LPG cylinder was retailing at Rs 694. Moreover, the price of gas cylinder has more than doubled in the last seven years.

For instance, the price of 14.2 kg cooking gas cylinder was Rs 410.50 on March 1 in Delhi, 2014. However, with the continuous price hikes in the recent past few years, the same cylinder is now retailing at Rs 834.50 in the national capital. Also Read: Fino Payments Bank files papers with SEBI for Rs 1,300 crore IPO

However, Paytm is running a bumper offer, using which you can buy a cooking gas cylinder for free. The fintech app is offering a chance to earn Rs 900 cashback on booking a gas cylinder for new customers. You can earn a minimum cashback of Rs 10 and a maximum cashback of Rs 900 as part of the offer. Also Read: Mahindra XUV700 revealed! Check dashing interiors, high-tech features in teaser video

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