IGL lifts Delhi CNG by Rs 3.89 a kg as Hormuz squeezes spot LNG

Indraprastha Gas Ltd raised compressed natural gas by Rs 3.89 a kilogram from 6 a.m. on Saturday, 29 August. In Delhi the pump price is now Rs 86.98, up from Rs 83.09. In Noida and Ghaziabad it is Rs 95.59. In Meerut it is Rs 95.47. In Gurugram it is Rs 92.01. The company said the move only partly covers the jump in imported spot LNG.

This is the fifth CNG increase in Delhi-NCR since the West Asia conflict began, and the first since May. In May, IGL lifted prices by Rs 6 a kg in four steps over ten days. Delhi started 2026 at Rs 77.09. The cumulative rise this year is almost Rs 10 a kg.

IGL's statement is blunt on the cause. A large share of the gas that goes into city CNG now comes from imported LNG. After the war re-escalated, cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz slowed. The company says global LNG prices have nearly doubled against pre-crisis levels. Europe is also bidding for cargoes to refill storage before winter. IGL is buying more on the spot market, where the price moves every week.

What the numbers mean at the pump

A typical CNG hatchback in Delhi uses about 8 kg for 100 kilometres, depending on traffic and load. At the new rate that is roughly Rs 7 extra per 100 km against Friday's price, or about Rs 70 extra on a 1,000 km month. Auto-rickshaw and fleet operators feel it faster because they fill every day. IGL still argues that CNG in Delhi is cheap next to petrol and diesel, and cheap next to CNG in many importing cities. That comparison holds only if the next hike does not arrive in a few weeks.

City gas companies in India sit between two price worlds. Domestic gas allocated under the government's administered regime is cheaper. Spot LNG is not. When the administered slice shrinks or when demand outruns it, the retail rate has to move or the distributor eats the gap. IGL chose a "calibrated" Rs 3.89, language that means the full input shock is larger than the hike.

The Hormuz problem is not local

The same week, European storage sat near 63 percent, the lowest late-August fill in 13 years. That figure belongs in this story because it explains why cargoes that might have come to India are being pulled west. Hormuz disruption plus a European refill race is a two-sided squeeze. IGL named both in its note.

North India's largest city-gas firm cannot fix the strait. It can only decide how much of the import bill to pass through and how fast. Saturday's change is the pass-through. Whether it is the last one this quarter depends on whether Hormuz stays tight and whether Europe keeps paying up for winter gas. For now the Delhi price is Rs 86.98, and the meter starts from 6 a.m.