GIVEN the recent significant increase in petroleum prices and devaluation of currency, prices of all key petroleum products are estimated to go up by Rs 8 to Rs 10 on Monday for the next fortnight.
The benchmark crude price has increased from $95 per barrel to $99 in the international market over the past fortnight of import orders placed by oil marketing companies while the exchange rate has slightly depreciated.
Because of Ukrainian crisis, the petroleum prices indeed jumped and reached about $ 105 per barrel but now a declining trend is being witnessed in the market with the price hovering around $ 98 per barrel.
Given this variation, we will suggest the government not to immediately pass on the burden of higher oil prices to the masses as once the prices of petroleum products go up, the transportation cost also immediately goes up which have an overall impact on the commodity prices.
It is also unfortunate that when the prices of petroleum products are revised downward, the transportation fares are not revised in the same manner.
Hence, we will suggest the prices are not revised upward at least for the next fortnight.
And when the market gets stabilized, the government may then accordingly adjust the prices but utmost effort be made to provide maximum relief to the masses.
Regardless of what the opponents and critics say, it is a fact that the government has so far tried to pass on the minimum burden of international increase in petroleum prices by bringing to zero the sales tax which, indeed, is unprecedented as no government in the past did so.
Similarly, petroleum development levy on various petroleum products is also less than the rate agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
With this, the government has borne revenue loss of billions of rupees which really indicates that the government is serious to provide relief to the masses.
At present whilst the petroleum prices are going beyond the reach of common man, we will also suggest the government to come up with some relief measures, especially for the salaried class and downtrodden segments of the society in order to protect them from the price hike.
