Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed prices of petroleum products, except for liquified petroleum gas, after receiving a revised list of prices from Indian Oil Corporation.

Petrol will now cost Rs 96 per liter in Kathmandu, and kerosene and diesel Rs 85. Similarly, aviation turbine fuel will cost Rs 75 per liter for domestic carriers and $950 per kiloliter for international airliners.

The revised prices come into effect on Wednesday night.

The price of diesel and kerosene have been slashed by Rs 10 per liter, domestic aviation fuel by Rs 15 per liter and international aviation fuel by Rs 0.95 per kiloliter. The price of cooking gas remains unchanged at Rs 1,375 per cylinder.

The revised IOC prices come as the world’s biggest oil and gas companies cut spending following a collapse in oil prices driven by a slump in demand because of the coronavirus crisis and a price war between top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Oil prices have slumped 65 percent since January to around $25 a barrel.

Birendra Goit, director at the corporation, said that Indian Oil was expected to quote a revised price for cooking gas as well, but it didn't do so this time.

He said that NOC loses Rs 291 for every cylinder of cooking gas sold in the market. According to Binit Upadhayay, spokesperson for the corporation, NOC bears a loss of Rs 600 million every month by selling cooking gas at a price lower than the market price.

Upadhayay added that after the revised prices come into effect, the company will still run losses of Rs 110 million every fortnight.

According to Nepal Rastra Bank, the country imported petroleum products worth Rs.110.64 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a decline of 7 percent compared to the same period last fiscal.