New Delhi: The government yesterday announced an average increase in the retail price of petrol by Rs 2 per litre, diesel by Re 1 per litre and that of LPG by Rs 20 per cylinder effective midnight yesterday.

The price adjustments the government''s response to the global price shocks. We are working on a package of measures to devise a more enduring mechanism," the petroleum minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, told newspersons.

The global crude price has spurted $7 per barrel in the last five months during which domestic petrol and diesel prices have not been raised. In the case of kerosene and LPG, no hikes have been undertaken in the last two-and-a-half years.

On its part, to help mitigate the losses incurred by the companies, the Government has agreed to a reduction in excise duties on products. The excise duty on petrol has been reduced by four percentage points to 26 per cent; on diesel by three percentage points to 11 per cent; and that on LPG from 16 per cent to 8 per cent.

The customs duties on crude or petro-products have not been altered, hence not impinging on the refining margins of the refiners.