Petro price hike decision today

The cabinet committee on economic affairs will meet this evening to decide on the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene, petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said.

"The CCEA will meet this evening. We hope a decision will be taken," he said.

The petroleum ministry has suggested raising petrol prices by up to Rs 0.77 per litre, diesel by Rs 1.25-1.84 a litre, LPG by Rs 20 per cylinder and kerosene by Rs 1 per litre.

Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and railways minister Laloo Prasad, who did not attend Wednesday's CCEA meeting, will be present today.

Petrol and diesel prices have not been raised for over three months now while LPG prices were last raised on June 15.

Petrol is currently being sold at Rs 2.20 per litre below the imported cost while diesel is priced Rs 4.15

a litre less than the cost.

LPG is under priced by Rs 158 per cylinder and kerosene prices which have not changed in the past 30 months, is being sold at Rs 11.76 per litre less than import cost.

Aiyar had said on Tuesday that public sector oil firms have lost Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in the first six months of the current fiscal on selling petroleum products below the imported costs and may suffer an equal amount in revenue loss in the remaining half of 2004-05.