The government has no immediate plans to raise petrol and diesel prices even though raw material costs have surged to their highest level this year, Petroleum Secretary RS Pandey said on Thursday.
"There is no proposal (to raise fuel prices) under consideration at present," he told reporters.
The price of India's crude oil basket averaged $77.47 per barrel this month, up from $73.07 a barrel in October.
The Indian basket reached its highest level this year at $78.95 per barrel on Wednesday.
Pandey said the volatility in international oil prices that had peaked to $147 per barrel in August last year before dropping to $33 by year end and then surging again, are bad for developing nations like India.
State-run oil firms are losing Rs 3.85 per litre on petrol, Rs 3.71 a litre on diesel, Rs 16.34 per litre on kerosene sold through PDS and Rs 201.88 per 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder due to firming up in international oil rates.
"I cannot say what will happen in the future, but right now we are not considering (a price hike)," he said.
At the current rates, IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are projected to lose Rs 45,160 crore (Rs 451.60 billion) in revenues on fuel sales this fiscal, he added.
The government had earlier this year decided to make good all the revenue loss on sale of domestic LPG and kerosene through issue of oil bonds, while the same on petrol and diesel would be mostly met by upstream firms like OIL and ONGC.
