The relevant ministerial panel is likely to meet in the next two weeks to review fuel prices, said minister for petroleum & natural gas Murli Deora in Mumbai on Friday. “The ministerial panel may meet in two weeks to decide on the pricing of fuels,” he said, adding that the Government is trying not to hike the price of petroleum products like kerosene and LPG, so as not to burden the common man.Meanwhile, petroleum secretary MS Srinivasan told reporters in Coimbatore, “Be prepared for a modest or moderate hike in the prices of petrol and diesel, after a meeting of the group of ministers in the first week of January.”“We are definitely not ruling out the hike. There will be a hike,” he said. Asked to quantify the hike, Srinivasan declined to specify, but indicated that the hike would be Rs 2-3. To a question on a hike of LPG prices, Srinivasan said the Government was providing domestic cooking gas for around Rs 290, nearly half the actual cost.A hike in fuel prices will help public sector oil marketing companies like IOCL, BPCL and HPCL cut their under-recoveries. The Government is also likely to tell the states to slash excise duty on fuels.
