Hike in petro products cannot be deferred for long: Chidambaram

Coimbatore, May 2 (UNI) Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today hinted that the hike in price of petroleum products was on the cards due to an increase in their cost in the international market.

When asked at a news conference here how long the oil price hike would be deferred in the country, Mr Chidambaram replied, ''not very long.'' On the increase in crude price at the international level, he said if the price of crude per barrel was in the range of 25 to 30 US dollars, it was purely an economic issue. But when it was increasing to 65 to 70 US dollars, it became a complex political issue, he added.

Only the Finance Minister or the Petroleum Minister could not solve it. Unless there was a consensus among political parties there could be no solution, he added.

UNI KS ROY RL RN2001