KATHMANDU, Feb 18: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has reduced the price of petrol and diesel/kerosene each by Rs 2 per liter.

With the revised price that will come into effect from Monday midnight, petrol will now cost Rs 108 per liter whereas diesel and kerosene retail at Rs 97 per liter in Kathmandu valley.

Issuing a statement on Monday, the NOC said that it decided to lower the price of petroleum products in line with the revised rate it received from the Indian Oil Corporation. IOC is the sole supplier of petroleum products to Nepal.

“As the NOC has received the revised price list from the IOC in line with the fall of the petroleum products' price in the international market on February 16, the price has been revised for the domestic market in line with the working procedure on petroleum product price automation mechanism,” read the statement.

The NOC, however, decided to keep the price of aviation turbine fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) unchanged. The decision to reduce the petroleum price comes as a relief for the consumers who have been facing a rapid rise in petroleum prices in the market.

Even the average inflation, as measured through the consumer price index, has outpaced the government target. Though the government had vowed to keep the consumer price rise below 6%, the average inflation has reached 6.41% in the first six months of the current fiscal year – FY2019/20, according to the recent report of the Nepal Rastra Bank.

However, the decision of NOC to trim the petroleum prices is less likely to significantly ease the inflationary pressure, say experts.

This is the second time that the NOC has slashed the price of petroleum products in less than two weeks.

Earlier on February 3, the NOC decided to cut the price of petrol by 1 rupee to Rs 110 per liter and diesel and kerosene by Re 1 to 99 per liter. However, the NOC had raised the price of LPG by Rs 25 per cylinder to Rs 1,375.

 
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