Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said that despite the recent fuel price increase, the government is still bearing a monthly cost of Rs. 20 billion by subsidising Rs. 100 per litre of diesel and Rs. 20 per litre of petrol.
He made these remarks at a special government media briefing held today (March 22) after last night’s fuel price hike announced by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
The Minister noted that had the price revision not been implemented, the government would have had to bear an additional burden of approximately USD 1.5 billion.
He warned that such a scenario would have increased pressure on the US dollar, triggering wider economic repercussions.
“This would have pushed the dollar to uncontrollable levels, even posing a risk to the country’s reserves,” he said.
Minister Jayatissa further said that increasing fuel prices is a measure adopted globally to manage such crises, adding that even if the war involving the United States or Israel were to end tomorrow, its economic impact would take considerable time to subside. (Newswire)
