Jet Fuel, LPG Prices Rise in India Amid West Asia Tensions — Here’s Why

Indian fuel retailers increased jet fuel and commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices on April 1. This comes after a sharp surge in ​global prices due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

According to The New York Times, India, the world's second-largest ‌LPG importer after China, is burning about 31mn tonnes a year. Roughly 60% of that is imported, mostly via the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that provides passage from the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Presently, the country is battling its worst gas crisis in decades, with the government cutting supplies for industries to shield households from cooking gas shortages.

Reuters reported that domestic fuel retailers have raised prices of aviation ​turbine fuel by 8.6% to 104,927 rupees per kilolitre and commercial ​LPG by 10.4% to 2,078.50 rupees per 19-kilogram cylinder in New ⁠Delhi, the Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC), website showed.

The country consumed 33.15mn metric tonnes of LPG, or cooking gas, last year, with imports accounting for about 60% of the total. About 90% of those imports came from the Middle East.

The ministry said that commercial cylinders, which are used by hotels and businesses, only account for less than 10% of the total LPG used in the country. Prices are changed every month.

The ministry also said that the prices of the 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinders have not changed to protect customers in the country from the price rise.

India has stepped up its fight against the LPG crisis by increasing its daily domestic LPG production by 40% to 50,000 metric tonnes, which is less than the 80,000 tonnes needed. Indian companies have also secured 800,000 tonnes of LPG cargoes from the US, Russia, Australia and other countries.

Global Energy Supply Risks

Global energy markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical tensions, particularly in West Asia, which supplies a significant share of the world’s oil and gas.

According to the March 2026 report by International Energy Agency (IEA), the war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. With crude and oil product flows through the Strait of Hormuz plunging from around 20 mb/d before the war to a trickle currently, limited capacity available to bypass the crucial waterway, and storage filling up, Gulf countries have cut total oil production by at least 10 mb/d.

The US Energy Information Administration notes that a substantial portion of global petroleum trade passes through this corridor, making countries like India vulnerable to sudden price shocks.