Amid the Middle East crisis, Sri Lanka increased the prices of petrol and diesel by 25 percent!

Amid the Middle East crisis, Sri Lanka on Sunday increased the prices of petrol and diesel by up to 25 percent. This is the second time in the last two weeks that the island country has increased fuel prices.

Sri Lanka has increased the price of regular petrol to Rs 398 per liter from Rs 317 per liter earlier, while the price of diesel, widely used in public transport, has been increased by Rs 79 to Rs 382 per litre.

Due to the war between America, Israel and Iran in the Middle East, the supply of crude oil has been affected and due to this, a huge increase in prices is being seen.

In the last one week, the price of crude oil has increased by more than 8 percent, while in the last one month the price has increased by more than 57 percent.

Along with increasing the price, Sri Lanka is also rationing petrol and diesel to reduce fuel consumption in the country.

Sri Lanka is completely dependent on imports for its fuel requirements and purchases coal from abroad to meet power generation needs.

Sri Lanka mainly sources processed petroleum products from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, while importing crude from the Middle East for a refinery built by Iran.

Continued price increases are expected to exert upward pressure on transportation costs and overall inflation, impacting both businesses and households already facing economic challenges.

Additionally, the Ministry of External Affairs in India recently confirmed that it is examining requests for diesel supplies from neighboring countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives.

“India is a major exporter of processed petroleum products, especially to its neighboring countries,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a media briefing in New Delhi earlier this month.

He said that the requests for fuel supply are being evaluated keeping in mind India’s domestic requirements and refining capacity.