The war raging thousands of kilometres away in Iran has arrived at the doorstep of Indian households through the cooking gas cylinder.
Effective Saturday, March 7, the price of a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder has been hiked by ₹60 across the country.
In Delhi, it now costs ₹913, up from ₹853. Mumbai residents will pay ₹912.50, Kolkata ₹939, and Chennai ₹928.50, as per local reports. This is the second domestic LPG hike in under a year. The prices were last raised by ₹50 in April 2025.
Simultaneously, the 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder used by hotels and restaurants went up by ₹114.50, now costing ₹1,883 in Delhi. This follows an earlier ₹28 increase on March 1, taking the total commercial LPG hike this year alone to ₹302.50.
The global energy shock behind the hike
Analysts and market watchers have directly linked the increase to surging global energy prices triggered by the military conflict in the Middle East. The connection is not just about crude oil. Some of India's LPG and LNG supply chains run through the Strait of Hormuz—the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran through which approximately 20 per cent of the world's LNG trade flows.
The conflict, triggered by the US-Israel forces bombing Iran, triggered a retaliation from the latter, effectively disrupting traffic through the Strait. Adding to the shock, Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG producer, suspended production on March 2 after Iranian drone attacks on its industrial facilities, an event S&P Global described as one that risks "massively tightening the intensely global market."
Europe's key pricing reference, the Dutch TTF gas benchmark, surged 76 per cent in one week, while the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) for Asian LNG deliveries hit a year-high.
India imports over 88 per cent of its crude oil and has a higher dependence on the Strait for LPG and LNG than for crude oil, making those supply chains more vulnerable to the ongoing disruption, as per analysts. Some even estimated that a prolonged closure of the Strait could push prices over $100 per barrel.
The Centre has directed LPG refineries to ramp up production and confirmed adequate stocks, and LPG shipments from the US, contracted at 2.2 million tonnes per annum from the US Gulf Coast, have also begun arriving since January, offering a partial hedge. Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, which amount to over 10 crore poor households, will continue to receive a ₹300 subsidy per cylinder for up to 12 refills a year.