Keep the cash for bad times

Any decision to pass on gains from falling crude prices to consumers must factor in the potential loss of revenues in a period of low growth

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The price of India's crude oil basket (COB) stood at $66.4 per barrel on April 14. For the month of April, so far, the average is $68.7. The 2024-25 annual average was $78.6, and the price was $72.5 even in March. This April's average so far is the lowest since the April 2021 monthly average, which stood at $63.4.

Retail prices of petrol and diesel, however, are virtually unchanged from March 2024 when the COB was at $84.5. These numbers clearly show that India's de jure deregulated fuel price regime is a de facto regulated one. To be sure, some of the windfall gains from the recent fall in crude prices will go the Union government, which has put an additional excise duty of ₹2 per litre on sale of petrol and diesel.