New Delhi, Jan. 4: The national oil companies have lowered aviation turbine fuel prices by Rs 3,000 per kilo litre (KL) from the level prevailing on December 1 last year as international prices have come down by $50 per KL.

This is expected to come as a welcome relief to the beleaguered airlines that have been complaining about soaring fuel prices, which constitute as much as 30 per cent of their operating costs.

International prices of jet fuel have come down to around $450 per KL from $501 per KL over the last month. However, they are still much higher than the March-2002 price of $234 per KL.

The national oil companies sell around 2.8 million tonnes of aviation fuel every year to domestic and international airlines and the country?s defence services. Indian oil accounts for about 68 per cent of the total market.

The decline in international crude prices is expected to give oil companies some respite.

According to petroleum ministry sources, the average price of the Indian basket of crude has come down to $36.28 per barrel during this month. This is lower than the average price between April to January this year, which works out to $37.5 per barrel.

The average price for the last financial year, however, was nearly $10 lower at $27.9 per barrel. The price of the country?s crude imports had touched a record high of $45.17 per barrel in October this year.

Crude constitutes as much as 90 per cent of the cost of production of petroleum products. As a result, there is precious little that oil companies can do to control cost once crude prices start rising in the international market. The fact that the country has to import over 70 per cent of its crude requirement make it that much more vulnerable to the volatility of the international market.

While the country is self-sufficient in most petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, it still has to rely on imports to meet the domestic LPG demand.