ULAN BATOR, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian oil importers have hiked the retail prices of gasoline and diesel from Saturday amid a rapid depreciation of the country's national currency the tugrik against the U.S. dollar.

Main Mongolian oil importing companies, including Shunkhlai LLC and Magnai Trade LLC have raised their retail prices of gasoline and diesel by 50-250 Mongolian tugriks (0.02-0.10 U.S. dollars) per liter, local media reported on Tuesday citing the Mongolian Petroleum Consumer's Association.

Currently, the retail price for a liter of gasoline brands AI-92 and AI-95 in Mongolia is at 1,890 and 2,220 Mongolian tugriks (0.74 and 0.87 U.S. dollars), respectively. The diesel fuel in the country is at a cost of 2,250 Mongolian tugriks (0.88 U.S. dollars) per liter.

The importers have raised the retail prices of both gasoline and diesel for the third time so far this year.

The latest hike is directly related to the depreciation of the tugrik against the U.S. dollar, according to oil importing companies.

The U.S. dollar exchange rate against the tugrik has reached a historical high in the past few days, with the exchange rate standing at more than 2550.

According to governmental data, the East Asian country imported nearly 1.5 million tons of oil products last year.