No going back on fuel price deregulation, says Pradhan

NEW DELHI: Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said there was no question of going back on deregulation of fuel pricing despite the government asking state-owned firms to subsidise petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre. He said international oil prices touching a four-year high of $85 per barrel is a "challenge" that has resulted in fuel prices continuing to rise despite a oneoff excise duty cut and public sector units (PSUs) subsidising fuel. Pradhan said he had spoken to Saudi Oil Minister Khalid A Al Falih and "reminded him of the June commitment of Opec to increase production by 1 million barrels per day" to help cool prices. "Maybe Opec is not following the June decision," he said. The combination of high international oil prices and a depreciating rupee has made imports costlier, resulting in retail pump rates shooting up. Petrol price on Monday was hiked by 21 paise a litre and diesel by 28 paise. This propelled petrol price in Delhi to Rs 82.03 per litre and diesel to Rs 73.82. Pradhan said the decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and ask oil PSUs to absorb another Re 1-a-litre was aimed at "giving relief to consumers". Later talking to reporters, he said the government was sensitive to consumers and had taken the decision in their interest. On asking oil PSUs to subsidise fuel, he said the companies have taken the decision to "shield" consumers from high prices.