The Hindu Business Line : Petro pricing: PM to be briefed today

THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, is believed to have met the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chaidambaram, on Sunday on the issue of price hike in petroleum, diesel and cooking gas.

The meeting comes just two days ahead of the net due date for revision in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas on June 15 and the two Ministers are expected to meet the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday on the matter before finalising the pricing policy.

The meeting comes in the wake of LPG and kerosene prices having remained unchanged since April 2002; petrol and diesel prices have been unaltered for about five months now. Over these five months, crude prices have surged by about $7 per barrel.

Based on the global crude price spurt, petrol prices in Delhi may have to be raised by Rs 3.53 per litre to Rs 37.24 and diesel prices by Rs 2.25 to Rs 23.99 per litre.

However, the actual hike will depend on what view the Government takes on a proposal for cutting duties to limit impact of high crude oil prices.

It is estimated that the State-run oil firms have lost about Rs 1,200 crore on selling petrol and diesel below the cost while the loss in case of LPG and kerosene is estimated to be about Rs 14,000 crore in 2004-05.

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