Fuel Prices Increased by Rp500 per Liter Today
28 March 2015 08:30 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has decided to raise the retail price of Premium and Solar--brands of subsidised fuels marketed by state oil-and-gas company, Pertamina--for Islands other than Java, Madura and Bali, which came into effect as per March 28, 2015. The Prices of Premium and Solar will increase by Rp500 per litre to Rp7,300 Rp6,900 per litre, respectively.
Meanwhile, It is known that the prices of kerosene will remain at Rp2,500 per litre.
"The government has decide to raise the price after having observed the recent fluctuations of the global crude oil prices, as well as the continued depreciation of the Rupiah against the greenback in the past month, said the acting Director General for Oil-and-Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, I Gusti Nyoman Wiraatmaja, as quoted in a press released sent on Friday evening, March 27, 2015.
To maintain the government's public accountability, the Indonesia's Audit Board (BPK) will be consulted and involved in monitoring the distribution of the fuels, the determination of basic prices, the amount of subsidies provided by the government, as well as the amount and use of the profit which could be derived from the retail price hike.
Previously, Pertamina said that fair market prices for Premium and Solar will be set for the upcoming months at Rp8,200 and Rp7,450 per litre, respectively - after having observed the Mean of Platts in Singapore (MoPS), which is used as a price reference for crude oil in the region. In February, diesel fuels were priced between US$62-74 per barrel, while the price Octane-88 grade (i.e Premium) fuels ranged between US$55-70 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the Rupiah's exchange rate has hovered around the Rp13,000 per US Dollar mark throughout the month of March 2015.
An economist for the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance, Enny Sri Hartati, said that the hike will cause inflation to rise and decreases the purchasing power of the Indonesia's general public. "If there are no concrete steps taken by the government to help move prices towards the right direction, it would be hard to reach Indonesia's 2015 economic growth target, which is set at 5.7 percent this year," she said.
ANDI RUSLI | URSULA FLORENE
