<p>Lanka IOC (LIOC), the subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation in Sri Lanka on Monday urged the government to approve a retail fuel price hike due to the prevailing situation regarding global oil prices, a top company official said here.</p>.<p>LIOC Managing Director Manoj Gupta said they were waiting for the Sri Lankan government’s nod to hike the petrol price by Rs 20/litre and diesel by Rs 30/litre.</p>.<p>The Sri Lankan government has put on hold the expected retail price hike of fuel despite increasing the prices of cooking gas and other essentials last week.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/sri-lanka-seeks-500-mn-loan-from-india-for-fuel-purchase-1041397.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka seeks $500 mn loan from India for fuel purchase</a></strong></p>.<p>“The price of crude oil in the international market is currently between $83-94, up from $65, four months ago, as a result of which LIOC has suffered huge losses,” Gupta said.</p>.<p>At the same time, he added that the retail price determination is at the company’s discretion.</p>.<p>"We are only consulting the Sri Lankan government due to the prevailing condition,” he said.</p>.<p>LIOC has been in operation in Sri Lanka since 2002, and maintains over 200 retail fuel stations catering to about 12 per cent of the country’s fuel market.</p>.<p>The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has also urged the government to approve price hikes.</p>.<p>Sri Lanka has sought a $500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchases amid a severe foreign exchange crisis in the island nation.</p>.<p>The move came days after energy minister Udaya Gammanpila warned that the current availability of fuel in the country can be guaranteed only till next January.</p>.<p>The state oil distributors import crude from the Middle-East and refined products from countries such as Singapore.</p>.<p>The price hike in the global oil prices has forced Lanka to spend more on oil imports this year.</p>.<p>The country's oil bill has jumped 41.5 per cent to $2 billion in the first seven months of this year, compared to last year. Lanka is facing a severe foreign exchange crisis after the pandemic hit the nation's earnings from tourism and remittances, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had said last month.</p>.<p>The country's Gross Domestic Product has contracted by a record 3.6 per cent in 2020 and its foreign exchange reserves plunged by over a half in one year through July to just $2.8 billion.</p>.<p>This has led to a 9 per cent depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the dollar over the past one year, making imports more expensive.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>
<p>Lanka IOC (LIOC), the subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation in Sri Lanka on Monday urged the government to approve a retail fuel price hike due to the prevailing situation regarding global oil prices, a top company official said here.</p>.<p>LIOC Managing Director Manoj Gupta said they were waiting for the Sri Lankan government’s nod to hike the petrol price by Rs 20/litre and diesel by Rs 30/litre.</p>.<p>The Sri Lankan government has put on hold the expected retail price hike of fuel despite increasing the prices of cooking gas and other essentials last week.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/sri-lanka-seeks-500-mn-loan-from-india-for-fuel-purchase-1041397.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka seeks $500 mn loan from India for fuel purchase</a></strong></p>.<p>“The price of crude oil in the international market is currently between $83-94, up from $65, four months ago, as a result of which LIOC has suffered huge losses,” Gupta said.</p>.<p>At the same time, he added that the retail price determination is at the company’s discretion.</p>.<p>"We are only consulting the Sri Lankan government due to the prevailing condition,” he said.</p>.<p>LIOC has been in operation in Sri Lanka since 2002, and maintains over 200 retail fuel stations catering to about 12 per cent of the country’s fuel market.</p>.<p>The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has also urged the government to approve price hikes.</p>.<p>Sri Lanka has sought a $500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchases amid a severe foreign exchange crisis in the island nation.</p>.<p>The move came days after energy minister Udaya Gammanpila warned that the current availability of fuel in the country can be guaranteed only till next January.</p>.<p>The state oil distributors import crude from the Middle-East and refined products from countries such as Singapore.</p>.<p>The price hike in the global oil prices has forced Lanka to spend more on oil imports this year.</p>.<p>The country's oil bill has jumped 41.5 per cent to $2 billion in the first seven months of this year, compared to last year. Lanka is facing a severe foreign exchange crisis after the pandemic hit the nation's earnings from tourism and remittances, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had said last month.</p>.<p>The country's Gross Domestic Product has contracted by a record 3.6 per cent in 2020 and its foreign exchange reserves plunged by over a half in one year through July to just $2.8 billion.</p>.<p>This has led to a 9 per cent depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the dollar over the past one year, making imports more expensive.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>