Diesel fell by Rs 7.69 a litre on 20 October 2026, to Rs 389.27. That day, the refining margin changed for the first time.
The refining margin is row D on the price sheet of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).
It went from US$41.89 to US$38.00 a barrel. It had stayed at US$41.89 on 42 sheets in a row.
You might expect a fall like this to follow the world price of oil. That line, row A, fell by only US$0.52 a barrel.
The sheet does not say why row D changed. It also does not split the Rs 7.69 between the lines, so I do not either.
Which lines changed on the 20 October diesel sheet?
Compare the sheets for 17 October and 20 October. My record holds no diesel sheet between them.
| Diesel sheet row | 17 October | 20 October | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, Dubai crude (US$ a barrel) | 108.54 | 108.02 | −0.52 |
| B, Aramco crude premium (US$ a barrel) | −1.50 | −1.50 | 0.00 |
| C, freight and insurance (US$ a barrel) | 8.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 |
| D, the refining margin (US$ a barrel) | 41.89 | 38.00 | −3.89 |
| E, cost and freight (US$ a barrel) | 156.93 | 152.52 | −4.41 |
| F, exchange rate (Rs to the dollar) | 277.11 | 277.09 | −0.02 |
| H, cost and freight (Rs a litre) | 273.52 | 265.83 | −7.69 |
| W, pump price (Rs a litre) | 396.96 | 389.27 | −7.69 |
Rows A to D are in US dollars a barrel. Row E is their sum, by the sheet’s own formula.
Row H turns row E into rupees a litre, using the exchange rate and 158.98 litres to a barrel. Row H fell by Rs 7.69.
Every rupee line after row H stayed the same. Customs duty was Rs 15.68, IFEM Rs 4.71 and the Petroleum Levy Rs 80.00.
IFEM is the cost of moving fuel inland. The oil company margin, Rs 7.87, and the dealer margin, Rs 9.98, did not move either.
So the whole Rs 7.69 fall in row H reached the pump price unchanged.
What is the refining margin, and how long did it stay the same?
Row D is printed as “HSD Crack”; HSD is high-speed diesel. The sheet calls it the “Difference of international price of HSD and crude”.
In plain words, it is the gap between a world price for diesel and the crude oil it is made from.
Row D first appeared on 20 August 2026, when OGRA rebuilt the diesel sheet. The diesel restructure note explains that change.
From that day to 17 October, my record holds 42 diesel sheets. Row D was US$41.89 on all 42.
Row A, Dubai crude, moved on almost every one of them. It ranged from US$89.46 on 20 August to US$124.75 on 18 September.
Since 20 October, row D has been US$38.00 on all 4 sheets, up to 23 October.
Why did OGRA change the refining margin?
The sheet does not say. Its description of row D is word for word the same on 17 and 20 October.
No other line on the 20 October sheet mentions the change. The sheet also does not say how often row D is meant to change.
Row A’s description says it is a 7-working-day average of a daily Platts price. Platts is a company that publishes daily oil prices.
Row D’s description gives no such rule. The sheet prints no world diesel price either, so I cannot check row D against one.
So I report the new figure as printed, and give no reason for it.
How much of the Rs 7.69 came from the refining margin?
This is the question most people would ask first. The sheet does not answer it.
It prints the change in rupees only once, in row H. Row H is the rupee value of all 4 dollar lines together.
In dollars, row D fell by US$3.89 and row A by US$0.52. So the change in row D was the larger of the 2.
Turning either one into rupees would need my own calculation. No document prints that figure, and the exchange rate moved too.
So I leave the Rs 7.69 whole, as OGRA printed it.
How far has diesel fallen since its September high?
Diesel’s highest price in my record, which starts on 21 July 2026, is Rs 424.92, on 18 September.
By 23 October it was Rs 391.75. That is Rs 33.17 a litre lower.
| Date, 2026 | Row A (US$ a barrel) | Row D (US$ a barrel) | Diesel (Rs a litre) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September | 124.75 | 41.89 | 424.92 |
| 17 October | 108.54 | 41.89 | 396.96 |
| 20 October | 108.02 | 38.00 | 389.27 |
| 21 October | 108.34 | 38.00 | 389.80 |
| 22 October | 108.52 | 38.00 | 390.11 |
| 23 October | 109.47 | 38.00 | 391.75 |
From 18 September to 17 October, row D did not move. Row A fell by US$16.21, and diesel by Rs 27.96.
After 20 October, row A rose on 3 sheets in a row. Diesel rose with it, while row D stayed at US$38.00.
Why diesel and petrol move differently compares the 2 sheets over the September fall.
What will the November sheet show for the Aramco premium?
Row B, another dollar line, is “Aramco’s crude oil premium for Arab Extra Light for Asia notified on monthly basis”.
Aramco is Saudi Arabia’s state oil company. Row B was −1.00 until 29 August, and has been −1.50 on every sheet since 1 September.
On 5 October, InvestingLive reported that Aramco cut its November price of Arab Light for Asia by US$3 a barrel.
Arab Light is not the grade on the sheet. Row B names Arab Extra Light, and the report does not mention it.
So I make no forecast. The first November sheet will print row B, and my record will hold it.
How can you check these figures?
Every figure in this note is a line OGRA printed, or a difference between 2 printed lines.
Each day page links to the OGRA document it was read from. The diesel build-up shows every line of the latest sheet.
The diesel history shows the price over time. The date comparison shows which lines moved between any 2 days.
Common questions
Why did the diesel price fall on 20 October 2026?
It fell by Rs 7.69 to Rs 389.27. On OGRA’s sheet, the refining margin fell by US$3.89 a barrel and Dubai crude by US$0.52.
What is the HSD crack in the diesel price?
It is row D on OGRA’s diesel sheet, the refining margin. The sheet calls it the “Difference of international price of HSD and crude”.
How long had the refining margin stayed at US$41.89?
On all 42 diesel sheets from 20 August to 17 October 2026. It has been US$38.00 on every sheet since 20 October.
Why did OGRA change the refining margin?
The sheet does not say, so I do not guess. Its description of row D is the same on 17 and 20 October.
How much has diesel fallen since its September high?
It fell from Rs 424.92 on 18 September 2026 to Rs 391.75 on 23 October. That is Rs 33.17 a litre.
Did petrol fall on 20 October 2026 too?
Yes, by Rs 5.16 to Rs 381.14. Petrol’s sheet has no refining margin row, so this change did not touch it.
Sources
- Diesel on 20 October 2026, and every row label quotedOGRA’s price notification effective 20 October 2026, document 17375Primary · SHA-256 archived
- Diesel on 17 October 2026OGRA’s price notification effective 17 October 2026, document 17338Primary · SHA-256 archived
- Diesel on 18 September 2026, the highOGRA’s price notification effective 18 September 2026, document 16420Primary · SHA-256 archived
- The 42 sheets at US$41.89, and 21 to 23 OctoberThe diesel history in this record, one entry per OGRA sheetPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Aramco’s November price for Arab LightInvestingLive report, in Spanish, on Aramco’s November Arab Light price for AsiaPress
- The diesel sheet before and after 20 August 2026The note on OGRA’s diesel restructureAnalysis
Every amount is a line OGRA printed, or a difference between 2 printed lines. No rupee figure is split between rows A and D.