Colombo has warned that a prolonged war in the Middle East could seriously undermine efforts to emerge from its economic meltdown of 2022. The increase in cooking gas prices on Monday is on top of an eight percent hike last month. A private company, which accounts for about a quarter of the domestic LPG market, raised its retail price by 23 percent to 5,700 rupees ($18.08), up from 4,630 rupees ($14.69). The state-owned Litro Gas, the main supplier of LPG used in cooking stoves, increased the price of a 12.5-kilogramme refill to 4,765 rupees ($15.62), up from 3,990 rupees -- an increase of 19.42 percent. "We have supplies for the entire month of April", a Litro spokesman said, adding that higher global LPG prices and shipping costs had forced the latest revision. Last month, Sri Lanka raised both fuel and electricity prices by more than a third as US-Israeli strikes against Iran and retaliatory attacks drove up global energy prices. The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20 percent of global crude oil and gas exports pass in peacetime, has been effectively closed since the start of the conflict. (Bssnews)