No fuel price hike in offing, says Deora

The government has no plans to raise fuel prices in the near future, and a call on this would be taken only when global crude prices stabilise, petroleum minister Murli Deora said on the sidelines of a function in Mumbai on Saturday.

"Don't talk about price revision at this point of time. The prices keep going up and down every day. You can't decide every day what happens. The prices have to get stabilised. We will study for a month or six weeks ...," Deora told reporters after a function to hand over petrol dealerships to the families of two policemen killed during the 26-11 terror strike.

Oil rose above $74 a barrel today, trading near a 10-month high, amid increased optimism that energy demand will rebound as the US economy heads for a recovery, while a storm off eastern Canada also lent support.

Last month, India raised petrol and diesel prices by as much as 10 per cent when global crude prices were hovering around $70 a barrel. But with two Congress-led states, Maharashtra and Haryana, going for assembly elections in October, this would not be politically the right time for the government to think of a further price hike.

Earlier, Deora handed over petrol pump dealerships to the families of two Mumbai police officers killed during terrorist strike – sub-inspector, Bapurao Durgude and assistant sub-inspector Balasaheb Bhosle.

The government had announced allotment of petrol pumps and CNG dealerships to the families of those police and National Security Guard personnel who fell in the line of duty, besides setting up an education fund for their children.

Eighteen families are entitled to get the petrol pump dealerships. However, father of NSG commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan has refused to accept the government dole.