Fuel prices in Sri Lanka rose again on Sunday, exacerbating the suffering of the population, which coincided with the arrival of a US delegation to discuss ways to alleviate the effects of the economic crisis.
The state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation announced that the price of diesel fuel used in public transport will rise by 15 percent to Rs 460 (€1.21) per liter, and gasoline by 22 percent to Rs 550 (€1.44).
The increase comes a day after Energy Minister Kanchana Videskira announced that several expected supplies could not be delivered and were put on hold indefinitely. Kanchana Wijesekera explained that oil shipments that were supposed to arrive last week did not appear, and deliveries scheduled for next week would not arrive due to “banking” reasons.
Official sources confirm that the remaining quantities in the country will last for two days, but the authorities are keeping them for basic services.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 and has been unable to finance imports of basic commodities such as food, medicine and fuel since late last year.
Source: El Iktisad
