Sri Lanka raised the price of gasoline by 24.3% and diesel by 38.4% on Tuesday, a record increase in fuel prices amidst the country’s worst economic crisis due to a lack of foreign exchange reserves.
With the second increase in fuel prices since April 19, the most commonly used Octane 92 petrol will now cost 420 rupees (USD 1.17) and diesel 400 rupees (USD 1.11) per litre, both at an all-time high.
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the state fuel entity, decided to raise the price of Octane 92 petrol by 24.3 percent, or 82 rupees, and diesel by 38.4 percent, or 111 rupees per litre (CPC).
“At 3 a.m. today, the fuel price will be revised. The Cabinet-approved fuel pricing formula was used to revise the prices,” Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said on Twitter.
“All costs associated with importing, unloading, distribution to stations, and taxes are included in the price revision.”
“In addition, the Cabinet approved the revision of transportation and other service charges.” “The formula will be used every two weeks or once a month,” he said.
The increase came as the public endured long lines at fuel stations affected by shortages.
The retail prices of fuel have also been raised by Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of India’s oil major Indian Oil Corporation.
“We’ve raised our prices to match the CPC,” LIOC CEO Manoj Gupta told PTI.
Meanwhile, auto-rickshaw operators announced that the first kilometre would cost 90 rupees and the second would cost 80 rupees.
The government announced that heads of institutions would have discretion over which employees would be required to report physically as a cost-cutting measure. Allow the others to work from home.
Since 2002, Lanka IOC has been operating in Sri Lanka.
As the country grapples with a severe foreign exchange crisis, Sri Lanka has been considering various options to facilitate measures to prevent fuel pumps from running dry.
The island nation is experiencing unprecedented economic difficulties, the worst since its 1948 independence from Britain. Due to a lack of dollars to pay for imports, it is experiencing a shortage of almost all necessities.
Long lines for fuel, cooking gas, and other essentials have formed due to a crippling shortage of foreign reserves, while power outages and soaring food prices have added to the people’s misery.
The economic crisis has sparked a political crisis in Sri Lanka, with demands for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation. The crisis has already forced President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to resign on May 9.
Inflation approaching 40%, food, fuel, and medicine shortages, and rolling power outages have sparked nationwide protests and sent the currency plummeting, leaving the government short of foreign currency reserves to pay for imports.
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