Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices; petrol at all-time high of Rs. 420, diesel Rs. 400 per litre

The decision to raise the Octane 92 petrol price by 24.3% or 82 Sri Lankan rupees and diesel by 38.4% or 111 Sri Lankan rupees per litre was taken by the state fuel entity, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka on May 24 raised the petrol price by 24.3% and diesel by 38.4%, a record hike in fuel prices amidst the country’s worst economic crisis due to the shortage of foreign exchange reserves.

With the second fuel price hike since April 19, now the most-used Octane 92 petrol would cost 420 Sri Lankan rupees ($1.17) and diesel 400 Sri Lankan rupees ($1.11) a litre, an all-time high.

The decision to raise the Octane 92 petrol price by 24.3% or 82 rupees and diesel by 38.4% or 111 rupees per litre was taken by the state fuel entity, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).

“Fuel Price will be revised from 3 a.m. today. Fuel pricing formula that was approved by the Cabinet was applied to revise the prices,” Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said on Twitter. “Price revision includes all costs incurred in importing, unloading, distribution to the stations and taxes.

“The Cabinet also approved the revision of transportation and other service charges accordingly. The formula will be applied every fortnight or monthly,” he said. The hike came as the public continues to suffer in long queues at fuel stations hit by shortages.

Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of India’s oil major Indian Oil Corporation, has also raised the retail prices of fuel. “We have raised our prices to match the CPC,” Manoj Gupta, the CEO of LIOC, told PTI.