New Delhi: The Union government has increased the prices of commercial liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders on Friday (May 1) by the steepest revision so far, marking the third consecutive monthly hike as global energy prices continue to surge amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, PTI reported. A 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder, commonly used by hotels and restaurants, has now been hiked by a record Rs 993. This is a more than 40% increase over the April prices.With this, the price of a commercial cylinder in Delhi now stands at Rs 3,071.50. It was Rs 2,078.50 last month.On April 1, commercial cylinder prices were hiked by Rs 195.50, and Rs 114.50 prior to that on March 1. Cumulatively, the prices have gone up by a massive Rs 1,303 in three months.The latest revision is expected to hit restaurants, street eateries, hotels and other businesses that rely on cooking fuel for their day-to-day operations. Many in the sector were already bearing the brunt of an apparent LPG crisis.Reacting to the sudden hike, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that he had predicted that “heat of inflation” would come after the elections, which ended on April 29 with the final phase of polling in West Bengal.“I had said it – the heat of inflation would come after the elections. Today, commercial gas cylinder is ₹993 more expensive. The biggest increase in a single day. This is the election bill. From February till now: ₹1,380 increase – a whopping 81% jump in just 3 months. Tea stall, dhaba, hotel, bakery, sweet shop – the burden on everyone’s kitchen has increased. And this will affect your plate too. First strike on gas, next strike on petrol-diesel,” he wrote in a post on X.According to news agency ANI, prices of the 5-kg Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinders have also been increased by Rs 261 per cylinder with effect from today.At the same time, the government has retained the existing price of the 14.2 kg LPG cylinder, commonly used for domestic purposes in household kitchens. The rate of the 14.2-kg cylinder continues to be Rs 913 in Delhi. It was last revised on March 7 by Rs 60 per cylinder.In a press briefing on Thursday (April. 30), Union petroleum ministry joint secretary Sujata Sharma said that the country was not facing any LPG shortage. “Domestic LPG supply has been ensured at 100%. Efforts have also been made to manage the booking period efficiently. There are no dry-outs at any LPG distributor, and online bookings have increased up to nearly 98%. Around 93% of LPG cylinder deliveries are being carried out through the Delivery Authentication Code system.”“Commercial LPG supply has been restored to about 70%. A three-member committee of Executive Directors from Oil Marketing Companies, in coordination with state governments, is ensuring the continued sale of commercial LPG. This month, approximately 1,92,532 tonnes of commercial LPG have been sold, including around 8,500 tonnes yesterday alone,” she said.Meanwhile, retail inflation increased to 3.4% in March, a figure that is highest in 13 months, as per official data. This was driven primarily by food, electricity, gas and other fuels groups.The surge in crude oil prices in international markets due to the West Asia crisis has caused the prices of LPG, industrial diesel and premium petrol to increase drastically in March.Globally, oil prices climbed above USD 120 per barrel on Thursday (April 30), putting immense pressure on economies. The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the situation underscored earlier warnings by the agency.“The world is facing a major energy and economic challenge,” said IEA chief Fatih Birol at the COP31-IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue in Paris.