The Indian crude basket averaged $120 a barrel this October — the highest since $123.6 in March 2012. On Thursday, the Sensex fell 460 points and the rupee slid toward 95 to the dollar. Here is what expensive crude means for your petrol bill and your monthly budget.
Updated: October 23, 2026, 10:30 IST
Quick Read
- Indian crude basket’s October average: $120 a barrel, highest since March 2012, per PPAC data.
- Brent crossed $112–113.5, highest since May; WTI traded near $99.80. Third straight weekly gain.
- Sensex fell 460 points to 73,249; the rupee dropped 36 paise toward 95 per dollar.
Crude oil is back at levels India last saw 14 years ago. The Indian crude basket’s average for October touched $120 a barrel, the highest since $123.6 in March 2012, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). It is up sharply from $114.5 in April. On Thursday, Dalal Street felt the heat: the Sensex fell 460 points to 73,249, the Nifty dropped 124 points to 22,688, and the rupee fell 36 paise toward 95 per dollar, Times of India reported.
The numbers
Global benchmarks are climbing too. Brent crude crossed $112–113.5, its highest since May, while WTI traded around $99.80. This is the third straight weekly gain. One honest note: prices moved during the day, and one report on Friday morning cited Brent near $108 — so treat $112–113.5 as the week’s high-water mark, with PPAC’s $120 Indian basket average as the number that matters for India.
Why prices are rising
Two fears are pushing prices up. First, fresh talk of US–Iran escalation in the Middle East. Second, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, which threaten the region that supplies most of India’s oil. Both fears hit supply routes at once. Read yesterday’s piece on how Trump’s block on Netanyahu’s Iran strike plans ties into this oil shock.
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What $120 crude means for your wallet
This is the question every reader asks: will petrol get costlier tomorrow? Usually not tomorrow. Pump prices in India do not move the same day as crude. There is a lag of days to weeks between crude rising and the petrol pump price changing — oil companies absorb the first shock. The bigger cushion is the government: excise duty and state VAT make up a large share of what you pay at the pump, so the government can cut taxes to keep prices steady. That is what happened during earlier oil spikes.
But crude this high still reaches your budget. Transport costs rise, which pushes up the price of food and goods — that is inflation, plain and simple. A weaker rupee makes every imported barrel costlier in rupee terms, which adds to the pressure. Watch the next fuel-price revision and the RBI’s next inflation reading.
Also read
FAQ
Will petrol prices rise tomorrow?
Unlikely to move overnight. There is a lag between crude and pump prices, and the government can cut excise duty to cushion the blow, as it has done before.
Why doesn’t the pump price follow crude the same day?
Oil companies buy crude in advance and adjust retail prices over time. Taxes also make up a large part of the pump price, so the government has room to absorb shocks.
How long has crude been this high?
The Indian basket has not averaged $120 since March 2012. The October average is up from $114.5 in April — a steady climb through the year.
