Commenting on the different opinions raised over the fuel prices recently, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told Parliament yesterday that the government is considering a fuel Price Stabilisation Fund.

Furthermore, he revealed that the proposed fuel Price Stabilisation Fund would be presented for approval at the next Cabinet meeting.

The new mechanism would help introduce stable prices for fuel for several years without subjecting to frequent fluctuations, Karunanayake maintained, adding that the government would follow the system in Singapore or Dubai when formulating the proposed mechanism.

Karunanayake argued that the government cannot change everything overnight. The loss incurred by the CPC as calculated by January 8, 2015 was Rs 280 billion, and the hedging deal alone resulted in a loss of Rs 130 billion, he added.

The government, when it came to power in January last year, had promised to introduce a price formula to adjust fuel prices with the world market prices. However, it is yet to introduce any mechanism on fuel prices.

Earlier this month, the world market prices of crude oil dropped to less than US $ 30 for the first time in more than a decade.