NOC to keep fuel prices unchanged despite price revision by Indian supplier

Kathmandu; Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has said it will not reduce fuel prices in the domestic market although it is provided with reduced rates of the majority of petroleum products from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

According to the NOC, in the new price lists that it received on Wednesday, the Indian supplier has lowered the prices of diesel, petrol and aviation fuel. In the revised rates, diesel has been cheaper by Rs 5.05 per liter and petrol has been cheaper by Rs 1.21 per liter.

Similarly, the costs of kerosene and aviation fuels are reduced by Rs 3.40 per liter and Rs 7.03 per liter, respectively. The IOC, on the other hand, has raised the price of cooking gas by Rs 339 per cylinder.

At the new rates, the NOC has projected its profits to remain at Rs 440 million in the next 15 days. However, the state-owned oil monopoly has refused to reduce fuel prices in the domestic market.

Binit Mani Upadhyaya, spokesperson for the NOC, said the corporation has decided to keep fuel prices unchanged. According to him, citing its financial liabilities of Rs 15 billion created from its past losses, the NOC will not be revising the prices this time.

Last time, the NOC slashed fuel prices on December 16, which hardly lasted for the following month before they were eventually increased.