Tuesday, May 31 2005 19:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may tomorrow (June 1, 2005) decide on revising fuel prices in line with increase in duties and spurt in crude oil prices.

The Economic Advisory Council Chairman R Rangarajan today (May 31, 2005) met Petroleum Ministry officials on the issue of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG pricing, sources said.

Rangarajan is likely to appraise the Prime Minister on the urgency for raising fuel prices without which the public sector oil companies were losing Rs 72 crore per day.

A meeting of the Prime Minister with Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Finance Minister P Chidambaram may take place tomorrow.

The hike in excise duty and road cess warrant a Rs 2.20 per litre increase in petrol and Rs 1.06 a litre raise in diesel prices. Additionally, the cost of supplying cleaner fuel from April 1 came to Rs 0.30 per litre for petrol and Rs 0.24 a litre for diesel.

The oil companies will have to take on themselves the Rs 0.37 per litre increase necessitated in petrol prices due to the surge in international oil prices and Rs 2.43 a litre on diesel.

Separately, the Ministry has sought Rs 20 per cylinder hike in LPG and Rs 3 per litre increase in kerosene prices to cut the Rs 81.93 per cylinder loss on LPG and Rs 10.31 a litre loss on kerosene sale.

Petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged since November 2004 despite a $ 10 a barrel increase in crude oil prices. Kerosene prices have remained unchanged for over three years now while LPG prices were last revised in mid-2004.