Sri Lanka hikes fuel and transport prices

Sri Lanka increased fuel and transport prices on Tuesday, a long-flagged move to combat its debilitating economic crisis, but the hikes are bound to exacerbate galloping inflation, at least in the short-term.

Power and energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera said in a message on Twitter that petrol prices would increase by 20 per cent-24 per cent while diesel prices would rise by 35 per cent-38 per cent with immediate effect.

“Cabinet also approved the revision of transportation and other service charges accordingly,” he said.