– Private fuel suppliers have the option of pricing fuel based on their costs, if they choose to do so, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said, warning that the government would take legal action if they restricted supplies to pressure authorities into increasing prices.He said certain private fuel stations had been limiting fuel distribution, causing inconvenience to consumers.

The Minister said that the government would not allow private suppliers to arbitrarily increase prices under pressure or deliberately restrict fuel supplies to push for significant price hikes.While the government aimed to support investors, protecting consumers and ensuring an uninterrupted fuel supply remained a priority, he said.He added that the government would not yield to unjustified pressure from multinational companies or fuel distributors and would take necessary legal action if supply restrictions continued.