Hike in fuel prices is temporary: Pradhan

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday assured that rise in the fuel prices in the country is temporary.

He was speaking to the media after attending the inauguration of the Textiles and Plastics Investors Conclave-2018 here. Reacting to the charges leveled by the Congress party, Pradhan claimed that the Congress was making false claims.

"The Congress party government has left a huge debt on us. The Congress is lying. Today, there is a surge in the price of crude oil in the international market. In the international market, other currencies of the world have weakened in comparison to the dollar, which also has an impact on the Indian currency. Hence, all this is temporary," he noted.

Pradhan further said that it was necessary to bring international factors in line to curb the surge in prices. "Both the international factors are not in our hand. OPEC had said to increase the production of oil by one million barrel per day but it has been two months (July and August) but they have not done this so far. The situation in Iran has also made situation tensed and they are also a factor for the hike in fuel prices," he said.

Fuel prices continued to rise on Sunday, with petrol and diesel prices touching a new record high in several metropolitan cities, including Delhi and Mumbai.

Earlier also Pradhan had said the rise in crude oil price in the international market and devaluation of the Indian rupee against the US Dollar were responsible for the hike in fuel prices in the country.