DEREGULATION OF DIESEL RATES ON THE CARDS

Hinting at deregulation of diesel prices as imminent, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said there were good signals from international market and his ministry will approach appropriate forum for freeing of rates.

Under- recovery or the gap between retail selling price and the cost of import, this month dipped to an alltime low of 8 paise a litre, helped by the monthly increases and softening in international oil rates.

“We are getting good signals from the international market. Nothing conclusive as yet though,” Mr Pradhan said on the sidelines of a Bureau of Energy Efficiency ( BEE) event here.

The National Democratic Alliance ( NDA) government has continued with the previous UPA regime policy of raising diesel rates by up to 50 paisa a litre every month to bridge the gap between cost and retail prices.

Mr Pradhan said the oil marketing companies are reviewing diesel prices every month.