The government on Wednesday ruled out any hike in the prices of LPG and kerosene in the face of war threats hovering over Iraq but said deposit money for LPG cylinders might come down in a couple of days.
"LPG and kerosene are subsidised items. In order to insulate the weaker sections, there is no proposal for any increase in the prices of LPG and kerosene, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on Wednesday.
He said there is a likelihood of further reduction in the deposit money for LPG cylinder.
The deposit money, which was Rs 900 earlier, has already come down to Rs 700 per cylinder after oil companies had floated tenders last year.
The new tenders floated recently showed that there could be further reduction in the deposit money, the benefit of which would be passed on to the consumers, Naik said, adding the government was likely to announce the new deposit money in a couple of days.
Though international crude prices have been volatile and have gone up over 50 per cent from $20 per barrel to $32 per barrel, the government has devised a scheme wherein oil companies would review the price situation every 15 days, he said.
Before the dismantling of administered price mechanism in April last, "never in the past petrol and diesel prices have been reduced", he said, adding "in the last one year they have been reduced three times."
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