Jet fuel price hiked for the fifth time this year by 3.3%

According to a price formal notice from state-owned fuel retailers, the price of ATF in the national capital has been raised by 3,010.87 per kilolitre, or 3.22 percent, to 93,530.66 per kilolitre.

On Tuesday, jet fuel prices were raised by 3.3% to all-time highs across the nation, in tandem with global oil prices rocketing to more than a seven-year high.

This is the fifth increase in jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices this year, following an uncompromising rise in global oil prices, but petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged for a record 116th day in a row, correlating with electioneering in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Advertisement

According to a price formal notice from state-owned fuel retailers, the price of ATF in the national capital has been raised by 3,010.87 per kilolitre, or 3.22 percent, to 93,530.66 per kilolitre. Jet fuel, which accounts for nearly 40% of an airline’s operating expenses, has reached new highs this year.

The previous high of 71,028.26 per kl was set in August 2008, when international crude oil prices reached USD 147 per barrel. On Tuesday, Brent crude oil was trading above $100 per barrel.
Since the beginning of 2022, ATF prices have increased every two weeks. ATF prices have been raised by 19,508.25 per kl, or 26.35 percent, in five increases since January 1.

These rate hikes followed two rounds of price cuts in December, which reflected a drop in international oil prices in the second half of November and mid-December. Following that, international rates will be applied, eading to the hike in ATF prices.

ATF prices last peaked at 80,835.04 per kl in mid-November 2021, before falling by a total of 6,812.25 per kl, or 8.4 percent, on December 1 and 15. Every month, on the first and sixteenth of the month, jet fuel prices are updated looking at the average price of the underlying basis over the previous fortnight.

Apart from ATF, petrol and diesel rates are updated daily based on the previous fortnight’s average price. However, prices have remained unchanged since the last modification on November 4, 2021, when the central government reduced excise duty on petrol by 5 per litre and diesel by 10 per litre.

LPG prices for cooking gas have also been frozen since October when they reached ₹900 per cylinder. Prices for 19 kg commercial LPG cylinders in Delhi have been raised by 105 percent as of March 1.

With this increase, a 19 kg commercial cylinder will charge $2,012 in Delhi starting Tuesday.
The price of a 5 kg cylinder has also risen by 27 percent. In Delhi, a 5 kg cylinder now costs 569. There will be no increase in the price of domestic LPG cylinders.

The price of LPG cylinders in India is revised monthly for all states and union territories.
Notably, on February 1, National Oil Marketing companies reduced the price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder by 91.50.