You won’t see an easy way out on petrol and diesel just yet. We have had one price hike after another on petrol, diesel and LPG over the last few weeks. Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi has made it plain: the next step on rates will be a matter of how much crude we can get with all the volatility we are seeing.
Centre puts its next fuel move down to crude supply
In a chat with the press in Thrissur, Kerala, Gopi put it this way: before the Centre makes up its mind on home-grown fuel prices, it is keeping an eye on the rest of the world. The Petroleum Ministry is on top of international happenings as the ebb and flow of crude costs ripples through to the pump in India.
When you put him on the spot about a change, Gopi would only talk about the supply side. “Let us see the supply of crude oil,” he said. “We have the minister in charge, Hardeep Singh Puri. Let it come.” He even chided the media at one point, wondering if they were there to oversee his work.
The urgency of the supply issue
There is good reason for the minister’s wariness. You have the kind of uncertainty that comes from hiccups in the global pipeline for both crude and natural gas. And with the trouble in West Asia, energy security is a hot-button issue, and the strain is being felt in Indian pockets.
People have been paying more for their fill-up and for cooking gas in recent weeks. Since our domestic numbers are tied to the international crude, a squeeze on supply can turn the tables on fuel rates in a hurry.
If you listen to Gopi, here is what you are left with:
– Whether we review the pricing is a function of crude availability
– The Centre is on to what is going on in the markets abroad
– It is up to Hardeep Singh Puri to steer policy
How it affects your wallet today
Read between the lines and it is obvious: if the crude is steady, the prices may well be too. There is no set date for anything. The Centre is leaving itself room to manoeuvre in the short run, depending on a day-to-day read of the situation.
My advice for the household or the business? Be ready for some up and down. Until the kinks in the supply chain are worked out, you can expect some irregularity in the numbers until the world righted itself.
Some pushback on the hard questions
Gopi was measured in his dealings with reporters. He knows there is some public unease with the cost of running a car, but he wouldn’t be drawn into a promise of action. In his view, you do the assessment first, you don’t just guess.
By making a point of Hardeep Singh Puri and the ministry, the minister was making sure the path forward is seen as one of process and figures, not politics.
Where we are headed with fuel
It all comes down to the stability of the crude and the general energy climate, per Gopi. As long as there is disruption, the Centre is in a watching brief, not one to pre-judge a rate cut or an increase.
For the consumer with a steeper bill, it is a case of forces you can’t control. The government’s way of doing things is to look at the facts of a rough market and let the rates follow suit, at least until things even out.
