Diesel, LPG price hike likely in June

After petrol, price of diesel, LPG and kerosene are likely to be hiked next month when a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee meets to decide on passing rise in crude rates to consumers. "The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has been scheduled to meet on June 9," a top oil ministry official said here today. "Price of diesel, LPG and kerosene will have to go up (to cover for rise in input crude oil cost). What EGoM has to decide is by how much," the official said. State-owned oil firms had earlier this month hiked petrol price by a steep Rs 5 per litre and oil ministry may push for a Rs 4 per litre increase in diesel and at least Rs 20-25 per 14.2-kg cylinder hike in domestic cooking gas (LPG) rates. Kerosene price hike too is on the cards. "There is no escaping this time... nothing can be. treated as sacred," the official said stressing that rates of all three commodities will be hiked. EGoM was originally scheduled to meet on May 11, a day after polling in West Bengal ended but the panel meeting was postponed and has now been scheduled for June 9. "Public sector oil companies are losing close to Rs 500 crore per day on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at government controlled rates. We cannot continue with this for long," the official said. Oil companies are losing Rs 16.49 on sale of every litre of diesel at current price of Rs 37.75 per litre in Delhi. Besides, state oil firms lose Rs 29.69 a litre on kerosene and Rs 329.73 per 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder. – www.financialexpress.com