The government has increased fuel prices with effect from midnight Wednesday (July 01).

CPC Chairman Brigadier (retd) Asoka Thoradeniya, who yesterday morning told The Island that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had turned down a request to increase fuel prices and wanted the Government to bear any loss, last night said that a litre of Petrol 90 Octain had been increased by Rs. 10 and Octain 95 by Rs. 15, diesel by Rs 3 and kerosene by Rs. 1. Furnace oil has gone up by Rs 1. Private bus operators, who agreed to forgo revision of bus fares scheduled to come into operation on July 1, would now reconsider their decision, sources told The Island. They added that the public transport sector, too, would be forced to review its fare structure due to the latest increase.

Before the latest price revision, a litre of Petrol 90 Octain cost Rs 120 and Octain 95 Rs 127 and diesel Rs 70.

Suresh Kumar, the Managing Director of Lanka IOC last night said that they, too, would increase the price of both diesel and petrol. He said that this wouldn’t be enough to cover their losses as Lanka IOC had been losing Rs 20 each on a litre of petrol sold in the Sri Lankan market. The price of crude oil had gone up to USD 77 a barrel from USD 40 six months ago.