New Delhi, June 15: The financial burden on oil marketing companies (OMCs) has eased significantly following a series of fuel price hikes and government support measures, with under-recoveries on petrol and diesel witnessing a sharp decline, according to data shared by Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Monday.

The latest figures show that under-recoveries on petrol have fallen by 83 per cent to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 24 per litre recorded on April 1.

Similarly, diesel under-recoveries have declined by 75 per cent to Rs 27 per litre from Rs 105 per litre during the same period.

The reduction reflects the impact of four fuel price revisions undertaken by the Centre in May, along with fiscal support extended to oil retailers amid elevated global crude oil prices.

Under-recoveries had come down to around Rs 600 crore per day in May after the fourth round of fuel price increases.

This marked a further improvement from nearly Rs 750 crore per day reported on May 18.

In the last week of May, the government approved an average fuel price increase of Rs 2.7 per litre, a move that was expected to help OMCs reduce their overall losses by at least 44 per cent.

The four phased revisions, implemented on May 15, 19, 23 and 25, increased petrol prices in Delhi from Rs 94.77 per litre to Rs 102.12 per litre.

Diesel prices in the national capital rose from Rs 87.67 per litre to Rs 95.20 per litre during the same period.

The improvement in OMC finances comes after the Centre absorbed a significant portion of the burden by reducing excise duties on petrol and diesel.

According to the government, the move resulted in a revenue sacrifice of approximately Rs 1.23 lakh crore over a period of 78 days, helping shield consumers from the full impact of rising global fuel prices.

Meanwhile, global crude oil prices declined by nearly 5 per cent on Monday after the United States and Iran reached an agreement and announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over disruptions to global energy supplies.

New Delhi, June 15: India’s automobile industry recorded its strongest-ever performance for the month of May, driven by robust demand across passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Monday.

Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales surged 27.3 per cent year-on-year to a record 4,38,854 units in May 2026, compared to 3,44,656 units in the same month last year.

The two-wheeler segment also posted strong growth, with sales rising 14.8 per cent to 19,02,209 units, while three-wheeler volumes climbed 31.1 per cent to 70,720 units.

SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said all three major vehicle segments recorded their highest-ever sales for the month of May.

He attributed the growth partly to the lower base of May 2025 and the demand boost generated by reduced GST rates and easier financing options.

“These factors continue to support higher vehicle off-take across categories,” he explained.

The strong wholesale numbers come on the back of a robust retail performance. Earlier, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) reported that passenger vehicle retail sales crossed the 4 lakh mark for the first time in May, rising 23.25 per cent year-on-year to 4,02,591 units.

FADA had credited the growth to strong rural demand, a revival in the entry-level car segment and sustained demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

The two-wheeler segment delivered its best-ever May sales performance, led by a sharp increase in scooter demand. Scooter sales rose 27.4 per cent year-on-year to 7,39,667 units.

Motorcycle sales grew 7.2 per cent to 11,13,973 units, while moped sales jumped 30.3 per cent to 48,569 units during the month.

Passenger vehicles continued to benefit from improving affordability and positive consumer sentiment, helping the segment achieve its highest-ever sales volume for May.

The three-wheeler segment also maintained its growth momentum. Sales increased to 70,720 units from 53,942 units a year ago.

Passenger carriers remained the dominant category, with sales rising 30 per cent to 57,649 units, while goods carriers posted a stronger growth of 35.3 per cent to reach 11,802 units.

Electric three-wheelers also witnessed healthy growth. E-rickshaw sales increased 38.9 per cent to 1,000 units, while e-cart sales jumped 81.8 per cent to 269 units, albeit on a relatively small base.

New Delhi, June 15: Business chamber Assocham on Monday welcomed the peace deal between the USA and Iran as a major breakthrough that would benefit the entire world and bring the global economy back on the growth path.

Assocham president Nirmal K Minda said, “The peace deal had been awaited for many weeks. This is a major breakthrough between the USA and Iran for the benefit of the whole world, as war benefits no one.”

“India, though it mitigated the West Asia war impacts to a large extent, is expected to rebound strongly to attain its trend growth rate in the current financial year 2026-27. We can expect India to clock a growth rate of 7 per cent in FY2026-27 with dynamic and effective policy measures of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India in recent months,” he observed.

The peace deal is expected to bring the global economy back on track and to achieve the earlier estimated GDP growth rate, he added.

US President Donald Trump while welcoming the peace agreement, said in a social media post that the Strait of Hormuz would be open to commercial shipping and the US would lift its naval blockade.

“Let the oil flow!” Trump remarked on Sunday. He went on to claim that, in contrast with the failures of past US presidents, he secured a “great deal that would bring peace and security to the whole region.”

US Vice-President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News that Iran never possessing a nuclear weapon was “built into this agreement” and that the US will be able to verify compliance.

Questions over crucial issues including the restrictions that have to be imposed on enrichment uranium and the stockpile of highly enriched uranium with Iran are expected to be sorted out in subsequent talks.

In his comments, Vance also mentioned the hardship that US citizens had go through due to higher fuel prices and their cascading adverse impact on the economy.

He assured the American people that fuel prices would start coming down. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a statement on Sunday saying that “final negotiations will be postponed until after the implementation of the other party’s commitments under the memorandum of understanding”.