Diesel price rise may go up by Rs. 1 per month
Posted on: 07/Nov/2013 1:05:55 PM
It is understood from various sources that we are to get ready for more price battles. The monthly hikes in diesel prices may double to Rs. 1 a litre from the current 50 paise. Along with this may come a monthly hike in the price of cooking gas (LPG), in the range of Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 per cylinder.
A senior bureaucrat in the petroleum ministry said,” There are two proposals under consideration...which is to go in for a fortnightly hike of 50 paise a litre for diesel or a Rs. 1 per litre monthly hike.”While petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily refused any immediate comments, he said the government is not considering any steep hike in fuel prices and may stick to the monthly hike in diesel prices.
Present losses on diesel stand close to Rs. 11 a litre and that of Rs. 555 per LPG cylinder.
While the ongoing gradual diesel price hike, and the capping of subsidized LPG cylinders at 9 a year, were expected to bring down fuel subsidies considerably this year, the sharp fall in the value of the rupee and high global oil prices have led to fuel losses climb up substantially.
The trend was satisfactory till May when losses on diesel fell to Rs. 4 a litre, but since then, the plunging rupee took the loss on retail sale of diesel to Rs. 11 per litre, wiping out the effect of the measures.
