LPG, CNG, PNG rates today, May 18: Check latest prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, other cities

LPG, CNG, PNG rates today: With CNG prices getting increased twice in a week in the national capital as well as a rate hike for petrol and diesel, anticipation over increase in LPG and PNG prices have mounted. CNG prices went up by Rs 2 per kg in Delhi and Mumbai, followed by an additional Re 1 per kg rise in Delhi. Moreover, petrol and diesel prices were increased by Rs 3 per litre each, marking the first fuel price hike in over four years.

The price increases come as fuel retailers face losses due to a surge in global crude prices linked to the conflict in West Asia and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. This route handles a significant share of global oil and gas shipments, and India imports a large portion of its energy through it. 

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To mitigate further uncertainties, India and the UAE moved to strengthen cooperation on LPG supplies and strategic petroleum reserves during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE.

14.2 kg LPG cylinder rates on May 18

Commercial (19kg) LPG cylinder rates on May 18

CNG prices across major cities on May 18

PNG prices across major cities on May 18

It must also be noted that the latest fuel price hike came 16 days after Assembly elections ended in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Prices had remained unchanged during the polling period despite a sharp rise in international oil prices triggered by the West Asia conflict. 

Energy prices had risen globally after the US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28 and Tehran’s retaliation effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes.

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To cushion the inevitable price hikes and due to the supply shortage, PM Modi urged citizens to use fuel judiciously, reduce consumption, use public transport and work-from-home options more often, and conserve foreign exchange. He also asked people to defer gold purchases and postpone foreign travel for a year.

Earlier, the government stepped up efforts to stop households from holding both a PNG connection and a subsidised domestic LPG connection. A late-March order directed consumers with PNG connections to surrender their domestic LPG connections and barred PNG consumers from applying for new domestic LPG connections. It also stated that LPG supply would stop after three months if a household did not switch to PNG despite its availability, and households with access to piped gas may have to give up their LPG connection by June.