Incredible but true :World fuel prices down by 20 $– yet SL fuel prices shoot up again lastnight
Friday 1 of June 2012
(Lanka-e-News-01.June.2012, 3.00PM) Truth is stranger than fiction . Can you beat that ! , while the world market fuel prices have tumbled down on a record breaking scale , the fuel prices in SL have been raised yet again lastnight. Accordingly , the price of a liter of IOC super diesel has been raised from Rs. 118/- to Rs. 119/- , that is an increase of Rs.1/- , while normal diesel has shot up by Rs. 2/- per liter from Rs. 115/ - to Rs. 117/-

What is most intriguing and disgusting from the point of view of the people who are being burdened daily as a routine by this ruthless regime is, why this increase in fuel prices at this juncture when the world market prices of a barrel of crude oil which was US dollars 108 in April had steeply plummeted to US $ 87.90 by now. That is when the price of fuel had declined by about US $ 20/- , why is the benefit of that price drop not passed on to the consumers who the Govt. burdens with price hikes immediately even when there is a price rise in fuel in the world market .
Those responsible for this say , these price hikes are necessitated even when the world market fuel prices have plummeted is because the value of the rupee has tremendously depreciated. The value of a dollar in SL Rs. is now 133.76 - fiscal mismanagement the cause.

The other reason they cite is ,in SL , imports of fuel has a 35 day time lag . Accordingly , the fuel which we are using today have been imported 35 days ahead. During that period, the price of a barrel of crude oil was US $ 117/- and that of refined oil was US $ 130/-. Hence when world prices dropped by a percentage subsequently , the local prices cannot be reduced, the Govt. Says