New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will go up by Rs.1.75 per kg in Delhi and by Rs.2 per kg in Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida effective from Friday midnight, an official said.

CNG will cost Rs.33.75 per kg in Delhi from 12 midnight. In Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida consumers will have to pay Rs.37.90 for one kg of CNG, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), the sole distributor of CNG in the national capital, said in a statement.

IGL managing director M. Ravindran said the company is forced to increase the price because of the recent depreciation in the value of the rupee against the dollar making the import of gas costlier.

“We have been forced to increase the retail price of CNG due to major increase in the input cost of entire pool of natural gas being sourced by us as a result of recent appreciation of dollar vis-à-vis rupee and the increased dependence on imported Spot R-LNG,” Ravindran said.

Prices of CNG have been hiked for the fifth time this year. The last hike was Oct 1, when it was increased by Rs.2 per kg in Delhi.

The Indian rupee has depreciated by almost 20 percent against the US dollar in the last five months. As a result of this, IGL has to pay more to import gas.