Share your email and we'll share the latest news
Exclusive economic intelligence, political and business coverage
Monday, October 26 2026
Monday, October 26 2026
MONETABRIEF – Lanka IOC the Sri Lanka unit of Indian Oil Corporation has raised Octane 95 prices by 20 rupees to 495 a litre, to recover losses, Managing Director K Raghu said. China's Sinopec unit also raised prices in tandem.
LIOC is still making loses of around 15 to 20 rupees a litre on Octane 95, after the hike he said.
On standard petrol and diesel LIOC was losing about 40 to 50 rupees, Raghu said.
The losses on diesel came despite a 70 rupee subsidy from the government.
There was no restriction on premium fuels, he said.
The government has said was planning to allow private operators to raise prices above the CPC determined price.
The gap between crude and refined diesel, called the crack margin had widened as the US war on Iran reduced capacity.
CRACK MARGIN : CPC costs are lower than other distributors as it refines part of its fuel and makes a profit on the gap between crude and refined products which had soared
In the US the diesel crack margin has surged as much as 100 dollar per barrel. The CPC imports crude and therefore its costs are lower, despite not having a very efficient refinery.
The import taxes on crude and refined products are also different. (Colombo/Oct26/2026)
| 3 month bill | 9.26% | 1bp ▲ |
| 12-m bill | 9.95% | 2bp - |
| Gold (Ounce) | $4187 | - ▼ |
Comments
Be the first person to comment and join the debate