IOC Lanka seeks fuel price hike

"We have asked the government to revise the prices of petrol and diesel," said Suresh Kumar, IOC Lanka`s Managing Director. He said the request was made in view of the Sri Lankan rupees` depreciation and the price escalation of fuel in the global market.

IOC, which operates over 100 fuel stations throughout the island, raised the retail prices in line with the government affected price hike early February. "Currently on every litre of petrol and diesel we lose rupees 15. So we have asked the government for corrective action" Kumar said.

The government price revision of fuel prices in February had led to island-wide protest action, leading to police fire. This was exacerbated by the decision to depreciate the rupee. The rupee dipped over 13 per cent against the US dollar since the depreciation.