Sri Lanka Raises Fuel Prices By 25% As US-Israel War With Iran Bites

Regular petrol was increased to Rs 398 ($1.30) per litre, up from Rs 317, while diesel, the fuel commonly used for public transport, rose by Rs 79 to 382.

22 Mar 2026, 04:37 · NDTV

Show
Quick Read
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed

Sri Lanka raised fuel prices by 25 per cent amid Middle East conflict concerns
Petrol price increased to Rs 398 per litre, diesel rose to Rs 382 per litre
Government aims to cut fuel consumption by 15-20 percent with price hike

Did our AI summary help?
Let us know.
Switch To Beeps Mode
Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka raised fuel prices by 25 percent on Sunday, the second increase in two weeks, as the country prepared for more impact from the war in the Middle East.

Regular petrol was increased to Rs 398 ($1.30) per litre, up from Rs 317, while diesel, the fuel commonly used for public transport, rose by Rs 79 to 382.

Last week, the government ordered an eight percent increase in retail fuel prices and introduced rationing to limit consumption.

"We hope to achieve a 15 to 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption with the latest increase," an official at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said.

He said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told them last week that the country must prepare for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East that could affect the island's energy supplies.

The president ordered a four-day working week from last Wednesday and asked employers to reintroduce work-from-home arrangements where possible.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20 percent of global oil exports pass in peacetime, has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation over the US and Israeli war against it, now entering its fourth week.

Sri Lanka imports all of its oil and also buys coal for electricity generation.

Sri Lanka buys refined petroleum products from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, while crude oil for its Iran-built refinery is sourced from the Middle East.

The government has warned that the fighting in the Middle East, and a prolonged war, could seriously undermine its efforts to emerge from the economic meltdown of 2022.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt in 2022 after the country ran out of foreign exchange. Since then, Colombo has secured a $2.9 billion IMF bailout.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Show full article

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world