India will more than double the price of natural gas, reflecting rising global prices, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

India will raise the price of local gas from old fields for April-September to a record high of $6.1 per million Btu from the current $2.90 per million Btu, the sources said.

This will raise the marginal price for gas from more difficult fields to $9.92 per MMBtu in April-September from $6.13.

High natural gas prices will boost profits for Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd, Oil India Ltd and Reliance Industries.

The move would raise gas prices for households, the energy sector, industrial enterprises and fertilizer companies, which would increase overall inflation.

India's annual retail inflation topped 6% in February for the second month in a row.

Headline inflation may remain elevated as fuel retailers began a gradual increase in diesel and gasoline prices on March 21 after a break of more than four months, reflecting a surge in global prices.

DBS Bank says that every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil raises India's CPI-based inflation by 20-25 basis points, widening the current account gap by 0.3% of GDP.