Mumbai: The group of ministers (GoM), constituted to look into the pricing of petroleum products, will meet on December 7 to discuss fuel prices in the light of high crude oil prices.

External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee will head the group even as the petroleum ministry continues to be the secretariat of the group.

Other members of the group are defence minister A K Antony, finance minister P Chidambaram, railway minister Lalu Prasad, road transport, highways and shipping minister T R Baalu, consumer affairs minister Sharad Pawar and petroleum minister Murli Deora said.

The planning commission has, meanwhile, suggested that domestic retail prices of fuel should be hiked in line with the surging international crude oil prices.

"I don''''t believe keeping oil prices low to keep inflation under control is a good idea," deputy chairman of the planning commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit in New Delhi.

"It is the view of the planning commission that if oil prices remain high on a sustained basis, it will have to be passed on," he added.

The Indian government is yet to raise prices of petrol and diesel despite global oil prices hitting almost $100 a barrel last month.

The government is trying to evolve a political consensus on the sensitive issue of raising domestic fuel prices, amidst  rising international prices of crude oil. India imports nearly 70 per cent of its crude oil requirements.

Public sector oil firms Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are together losing over Rs250 crore per day on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas LPG and kerosene at government-determined prices.