The Left on Friday said it was not averse to a hike in petrol and diesel prices, which have been necessitated due to surge in crude oil prices, but suggested the government should try to cushion the impact on the common man.

"We understand the government is under tremendous pressure. Now, with crude prices touching nearly $56 a barrel, the government has a valid case to hike the prices," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters.

He said the government should take the brunt of the burden and not let it fall on the people as it has done so far by reducing duties.

The Left, he said, was agreeable to the hike in petrol prices, a marginal increase in diesel prices but certainly not in LPG and kerosene.

"In case it becomes imminent and the government is not in a position to absorb the further loss (on account of slashing excise duty), we would want it to cushion the impact on the common man," Yechury said.