Petrol, diesel prices may rise Rs 3.50 a litre

The government may, from next week, find it easier to decontrol petrol and diesel prices, as softening global rates would require fuel costs to be raised by just Rs 3.50 a litre.

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is scheduled to meet on June 7 to consider a Kirit Parikh committee report that calls for freeing of petrol and diesel prices from governmental control, besides steep increases in LPG and kerosene rates to cut fuel subsidy.

“Earlier, there were doubts if the government would actually free auto fuel prices — particularly that of diesel — as the increase required to bring them on a par with international rates was over Rs 6 per litre. But, the fall in global oil prices has made the task easier,” an oil ministry official said.

The EGoM would have to raise the price of petrol by Rs 3.35 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 3.49 a litre to free them from government control.