New Delhi, March 20 -- Crude oil has surged past $100 a barrel, but Indian fuel prices haven't budged. Sounds like relief, right? Not quite.

Behind the scenes, oil marketing companies are absorbing the shock as global peers, from the US to China, pass on rising costs to consumers. The trigger is escalating West Asia tensions, now hitting critical oil and gas infrastructure and tightening global supply.

India has nudged up LPG prices, but petrol and diesel remain unchanged. For now. With elections underway, any hike is as much a political call as an economic one.

But every $10 rise in crude significantly erodes OMC margins. With prices up over $45, the pressure is mounting fast. So what gives first, government finances or consumer walle...