Commercial LPG cylinder rises ₹10 to ₹2,820 from November 1

Oil marketing companies raised the price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder by ₹10 to ₹2,820 with effect from 1 November¹. The same cylinder cost ₹2,810 on 1 October¹.

Commercial LPG has now been raised at three monthly revisions in a row: ₹9.50 on 1 September, ₹62.50 on 1 October and ₹10 on 1 November¹. Household LPG was unchanged at ₹942 for a 14.2-kg cylinder, and petrol and diesel prices also stayed put¹.

What it adds to a kitchen's bill

Restaurants, hotels and other commercial users buy 19-kg cylinders at commercial rates, and the revision is charged on every cylinder they lift¹. The ₹10 rise applies to each cylinder, so a kitchen that uses more cylinders pays more in total¹. A 5-kg free trade cylinder costs ₹782 for a refill and ₹1,903 for a new connection¹.

Figures are from the state oil companies' revised rate list, as reported by The Economic Times¹. The ₹2,820 price in that list varies between states because of local taxes such as VAT¹.

Why the cost has stayed up

Prices moved sharply earlier this year: up ₹1,373 a cylinder between February and June to a record ₹3,113.50, then down in July and August¹. The report links the volatility to geopolitical tension and to disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a large share of India's Gulf LPG¹.

India imports roughly half of its natural gas and LPG. Three import-cost lines keep commercial rates up, the report said: the extra premium for shipping risk, swings in crude prices and high Saudi Aramco contract prices¹. Kpler said the Hormuz closure affected about 90 per cent of India's LPG imports and that the government rationed deliveries². It expects LPG demand to fall by around 100,000 barrels a day in 2026². Kpler sees a partial recovery in the fourth quarter on the festival season and higher imports, and a rise of only about 60,000 barrels a day in 2027².

The barrels buyers are turning to are expensive. US Gulf Coast propane was assessed at $1.0925 a gallon on 22 October, one of the highest levels since September 2022⁴. Butane at the Enterprise terminal was $1.785 a gallon, one of the highest since March 2022, and India is among the biggest buyers of US butane as importers replaced Hormuz cargoes⁴.

The rate list was attributed to the state-owned oil companies. No named company executive or petroleum ministry official was quoted on how much of the import cost is being passed through¹.

Pipe gas as the way out

Some large buyers are changing fuel. Indraprastha Gas signed an agreement with Northern Railway's Delhi Division to supply piped natural gas to 22 railway establishments³. Supply starts at about 3,000 standard cubic metres a day and is expected to replace around 500 kg of LPG and 2,500 litres of diesel daily, under the government's PNG Drive 3.0³.

"This MoU will facilitate the substitution of a substantial quantity of LPG with natural gas, thereby helping reduce import dependence and the associated subsidy burden," IGL chairman Subhankar Sen said³.

Kpler expects the shift to cap LPG demand. "Indian LPG demand will remain constrained by the expansion of piped natural gas (PNG)," senior analyst Priti Mehta said². The report adds that any saving, and any emissions gain, depends on the price of gas, what a site burned before, how much it uses and how efficiently³.

What to watch

Prices are reset at the start of each month, tracking international benchmarks and the rupee against the dollar, so the next test is 1 December¹. The inputs to watch are the next Saudi Aramco contract price, Hormuz shipping and US butane availability^1, 4.

The report flagged the burden on hotels and eateries in the festive season but did not quote any of them on menu or banquet contract pass-through¹.