Commuters and commercial drivers in Delhi and North India are facing renewed financial pressure as compressed natural gas (CNG) prices were increased by ₹2 per kg on Tuesday. This latest revision by Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) marks the fourth price hike in less than two weeks, driving the retail price of the clean fuel to ₹83.09 per kg in the national capital.
The roller-coaster ride started on May 15 with a series of price revisions that saw CNG prices jump by as much as ₹6 per kg in just eleven days. The price ripple has spread to the wider National Capital Region (NCR) with CNG rates rising to ₹91.70 per kg in Noida, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida, while consumers in Gurugram will now have to pay ₹88.12 per kg.
Increasing input gas costs, volatile currency exchange rates and unstable global energy markets affected by continuing geopolitical tensions in West Asia can be attributed to a constant adjustment of prices, industry experts say. The oil and gas supplies have been restricted globally owing to the shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, more notably, resulting in pricing pressures all over.
This clean-fuel surge is part of a larger increase in the cost of conventional energy. Similarly petrol and diesel prices have been hiked in four rounds since mid-May with petrol crossing the ₹100 mark to retail at ₹102.12 a litre in Delhi.
The cumulative fuel hikes are expected to have a direct impact on the daily public transport operations. Local transport unions, auto-rickshaw drivers and cab aggregators have raised alarm bells on depleting profit margins, warning that surging operational costs could soon trigger demand for higher passenger fares and retail logistics costs across northern India.