CNG price now up by ₹3, crosses ₹80 per kg mark in Delhi; check for Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai
It is important to note that the new revision in CNG prices is restricted to Delhi-NCR as of now.
AFTER they were hiked by ₹2 on Friday, the prices of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) were increased again by Re 1 per kg in Delhi on Sunday — marking the second increase in 48 hours.
Cumulatively, the cost of CNG has increased by ₹3 per kg in Delhi. The earlier hike in CNG prices came alongside the nationwide surge in prices of petrol and diesel by ₹3 per litre as soaring crude prices amid the West Asia war continued to squeeze Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
Following the latest revision, CNG in Delhi will cost ₹80.09 per kg, while consumers in Noida and Ghaziabad will have to pay ₹88.70 per kg.
This hike will likely have a direct impact on cab operators and other commercial vehicle users, who largely depend on CNG as car fuel in the national capital region.
Meanwhile, petrol in Delhi now costs ₹97.77 per litre, while diesel is priced at ₹90.67 per litre.
It is important to note that the new revision in CNG prices is currently restricted to Delhi-NCR, and remains unchanged in other major cities. Fuel prices vary across states due to differences in value-added tax.
As of Sunday, 17 May, CNG prices in other major cities stand at:
Mumbai: ₹81.00 per kg
Chennai: ₹91.50 per kg
Bengaluru: ₹90.00 per kg
Ahmedabad: ₹82.25 per kg
Hyderabad: ₹97.00 per kg
Prices expected to rise further?
Economists and analysts have been cautioning that fuel prices are expected to increase further in India for OMCs to absorb the crude shock.
Financial services company Emkay Global predicted that the price of petrol and diesel may increase to ₹10 per litre. In a report released on 15 May, it noted, “We expect hikes of ₹10/lt to cover roughly 50% of under-recoveries, either in one shot or via creeping hikes over 2-3 weeks.”
The report estimated that OMCs are currently losing ₹17-18 on every single litre of fuel they sell. This is even after the union government cut excise duty on fuel imports by ₹10 per litre on 27 March 2026.
Politics of petrol price
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday defended the hike in fuel prices, comparing the 3.2% and 3.4% price increase in petrol in India to other countries, claiming that they witnessed the hikes ranging from 20% to nearly 100% due to the West Asia war.
In a post on social media platform X, Rijiju also attached a list of countries that hiked their fuel prices due to the war. According to the list, Malaysia saw a growth of 89.7% in petrol prices and 112.7% in diesel prices. The US reported a hike of 44.% in petrol prices and 48.1% in diesel prices. China saw a hike of 21.7% in petrol and 23.7% in diesel prices.
After the increase on 15 May, petrol and diesel prices are now the highest since May 2022.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked the government over the hike, saying the public was being forced to pay for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration's mistakes.
"Ghalti Modi sarkaar ki, keemat janta chukayegi (The public will pay the price for the Modi government's mistake)," Gandhi said in a post on X. "The ₹3 shock has already arrived, the rest of the 'vasooli' (recovery) will be done in instalments."
