Government will again review retail fuel prices in October, even as it expects crude import bill to shoot up to $110-120 billion this year on the back of record oil prices.
"At the time of Cabinet decision in June (on oil price hike), we agreed that we will take stock of the situation in October. We do not expect any price revision between now and October," Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan said in Madrid on Thursday.
On June 4, when global crude prices were hovering about $135 a barrel, the government announced an increase in prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 3 per litre respectively to bail out state-run oil marketing companies from a financial mess.
International oil prices on Thursday climbed to a record $145 a barrel, and a fresh revision in retail prices could further fuel inflation that is already at over 13-year high of 11.42 per cent.
"It (import bill) will go up if the prices rise further," Srinivasan told reporters on the sidelines of the 19th World Petroleum Congress.
In 2007-08, India's import bill was $67.988 billion. This year, the import would be higher because Reliance Petroleum's export oriented 29 MT refinery is set for commissioning in August-September.
He said fuel consumption growth will be 5-6 per cent, but if the current pricing policies continue, wherein auto fuels are cheaper than industrial fuel like naphtha, the demand may go up because there is a tendency for power generators to switch to diesel instead of fuel oil and naphtha for electricity generation.