Lanka raises petrol prices by 5pc
Afp, Colombo
Sri Lanka said Friday it was raising petrol prices by five percent following sharp gains in world crude early last year which have since subsided. Petrol at the pump will now cost 97.00 rupees (90 US cents) a litre, Ceylon Petroleum Corp. Chairman Asantha de Mel said. The price revision also covers Indian fuel retailer Lanka IOC, which controls a third of the local fuel market, its Managing Director, K. Ramakrishnan said. The price revision does not cover diesel and kerosene, which current sells at 60.00 rupees and 48.00 rupees a litre respectively. A net oil importer, Sri Lanka's fuel bill climbed up to around to 2.2 billion dollars last year, from 1.6 billion in 2005.
| 
