Union Oil Minister Hardeep Puri on Wednesday, January 3, dismissed news reports of a ₹10 price cut in retail prices of petrol and diesel as prices of crude oil remain volatile owing to geopolitical conflicts.

“I have clarified that there has been no discussion with the oil marketing companies on any such issue.” The minister also called the news reports “speculative and slightly mischievous.”

Elaborating on the current scenario after the Red Sea attacks, the minister said, “We are in a highly turbulent situation,” where 12% of the global shipping trade emanates.

In 2023, 4-8% of global LNG cargoes came from the Suez Canal, and Red Sea routes while 8.2 million barrels of crude oil per day come through these routes, the minister said.