It was expected over the weekend, but the bad news finally came on Saturday afternoon. Diesel and petrol prices are going up!
The Petroleum Pricing Committee (PPC) met on Saturday 30 September 2023 and after verification of the computation of the retail prices of Mogas and Gas Oil, as provided for under Regulation 8 of the Consumer Protection (Control of Price of Petroleum Products) Regulations 2011 (as amended), recommended that the retail prices of Mogas and Gas Oil be increased. The price of petrol has risen from Rs 69 to Rs 72.10 per liter, an increase of Rs 3.10. The price of diesel has risen from Rs 54.55 to Rs 60.00 per liter, an increase of Rs 5.45.
The Committee also took note of the evolution of world prices of Mogas and Gas Oil and considered the estimated deficit of Rs5.2 billion in the Price Stabilisation Account (PSA).
Mogas (L’Essence) – Based on the new Reference Price of US$ 961.35 per metric ton for Mogas (as compared to US$ 801.13 per metric ton used on 2 June 2023), as defined in the Regulations, at an exchange rate of Rs44.90/US$, the retail price of Mogas should increase to Rs72.10 per litre i.e by Rs3.10 per litre or by 4.49%.
Gas Oil (Diesel) – Using the new Reference Price of US$ 121.65 per barrel as compared to US$ 89.37 per barrel used on 2 June 2023, as defined in the Regulations, at an exchange rate of Rs44.90/US$, the retail price of Gas Oil should be increased to Rs64.15 per litre, that is, by Rs9.60 per litre or 17.60 %. However, as provided for under Regulation 5 (3)(b), the increase in the retail price of Gas Oil has been limited to a maximum of 10% (9.99%). Thus, a loss of Rs3.61 per litre is being carried forward.
The Committee took note that since December 2021, the maximum increases could not be passed on due to the limitations in the Regulations resulting in an increase in the deficit in the PSA as shown below. Moreover, it is to be highlighted that these losses pertain only to Mogas and Gas Oil and not to the other operations of STC.
Based on the new Reference Prices, the retail prices of Mogas (L’Essence) is increased to Rs72.10 per litre and that of Gas Oil (Diesel) is increased to Rs60.00 per litre. The new Price Structures are as follows:
