In the fourth straight monthly increase since July, the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) or jet fuel, was hiked by 5% on October 1. The price of commercial cooking gas was also raised by a sharp ₹209 per 19-kg cylinder.
The price of a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder though remained unchanged.
The revision in rates of ATF is expected to lead to a rise in air fares ahead of the festive season. Airlines attribute approximately 40% of the ticket price to ATF costs. ATF prices are notified on the first of every month by state-owned fuel retailers. They are revised based on the average international price in the previous month.
ATF price has now increased to ₹118,199.17 per kilolitre (kl) in Delhi, ₹1,22,423.92 per kl in Chennai, and ₹1,10,592.31 per kl in Mumbai for domestic airlines. ATF prices had seen their steepest-ever hike of 14.1% in September, an 8.5% hike in August and 1.6% in July.
After the increase, jet fuel prices have gone up by a whopping ₹29,391.08 per kl.
Meanwhile, the increase in prices of commercial LPG, used by hotels and restaurants, may raise expenses for the commercial establishments. A 19-kg cylinder now costs ₹1,731.50 in Delhi, ₹1,684 in Mumbai, and ₹1,898 in Chennai.
The latest hike largely reverses the ₹157.5 per cylinder cut in commercial LPG price effected on September 1 and the ₹100 cut on August 1.
Prices of 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinders, which had been reduced by ₹200 in August, have not been changed. The reduction in prices is also applicable to beneficiaries enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), meaning a total subsidy of ₹400 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.
The Union Cabinet had approved approximately 75 lakh new LPG connections under PMUY in September. The initiative aims to provide these connections over the next three years at an estimated cost of ₹1,650 crore.
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