People do not get the benefit of a decrease in oil prices – Professor Wasantha Athukorala

The people of this country will not benefit from the drop in crude oil prices in the world market, says Professor Wasantha Athukorala of Peradeniya University’s Department of Economics and Statistics
According to Professor Athukorala, the cost of living, including the cost of transportation of goods and services, is not decreasing significantly due to the stagnant prices of petrol and diesel in the country.
He points out that in September 2023, the price of a litre of 95-octane petrol in Sri Lanka was around Rs 420, and that price has not come down.
Prof. Wasantha Athukorala further states, “By September of last year, the price of a barrel of crude oil was recorded as $94. By December of last year, it had gone down to $68. By March of this year, it had increased to $83 and had gone down to $74 by last June. That means that from September 2023 until now, the price of a barrel of crude oil has gone down by 27%.
However, by September 2023, the price of a litre of 95-octane petrol in Sri Lanka was about Rs 420, which remains the same today.
By September 2023, the price of a litre of 92-octane petrol was Rs365, and today, it has decreased by Rs 10 to Rs 355—only 2%. The price of a litre of Lanka Auto Diesel was Rs 351 by September last year, and today, it has decreased by 11% to Rs 317.
By September last year, the price of a litre of Lanka Super Diesel was Rs 421. But today, it is Rs 377, down 12%.”

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