New Delhi: State-run oil marketing companies incurred a loss of ₹74,781 crore in the April-June quarter by selling fuels below market prices, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at a press conference on Thursday.Puri remained noncommittal on cutting domestic pump prices despite the recent decline in global crude prices, saying refiners are still processing higher-priced crude purchased earlier. Refiners typically order crude one to two months in advance and keep a two-week inventory at their facilities. He did not clarify whether the companies were still incurring losses.Brent crude traded around $70 per barrel on Thursday, down 26% over the past month and about 40% from its peak in April.State-run refiners did not fully pass on the global spike in crude prices to consumers, raising petrol and diesel prices by only about ₹8 per litre in phases.In the process, they incurred heavy losses and may seek to recover some of those before lowering pump prices.Puri said a reduction in retail fuel prices could be considered if current crude prices persist for some time.Commenting on private-sector refiner Nayara Energy's decision to reduce pump prices, Puri said the cut merely offset the additional increase the company had taken earlier and brought its retail prices back in line with those of state-run retailers. With international fuel prices easing, bulk diesel prices in India have also declined, narrowing the gap between retail and bulk diesel rates to just ₹3 per litre, he said. Puri clarified that no Indian refiner had directly supplied petrol to Russia, though some traders may have exported Indian-origin fuel to that country.A report on Wednesday said petrol cargoes had been dispatched to Russia to help the country address fuel shortages following a series of Ukrainian attacks on its refineries that curtailed fuel production.On ethanol blending, Puri said any move beyond the current 20% target wouldn't happen in a haste. "If we move to 25% from 20%, it will be after tests are done," he said.