Diesel and gasoline prices falling
Friday, January 16 2015 - 08:27 AM WIB
President Joko Widodo announced on Friday a decrease in the retail prices of diesel and Premium gasoline.
Starting Monday, Premium, known in the industry as RON 88 gasoline, will be sold at Rp 6,600 per liter, a Rp 1,000 decrease from Rp 7,600 per liter earlier, while diesel at Rp 6,400 per liter down from Rp 7,250 per liter, the President said in press conference at the state palace.
Jokowi also announced a new price for LPG sold in 12-kg container. The new price is Rp 129,000 per container, down from Rp 134,700.
Premium was previously subsidized by the government, but the government recently decided to scrap the subsidy, letting the price fluctuate along with with the crude price on the international market while putting the value of local currency in terms of the US dollar into consideration. The government however still maintains some subsidy for diesel in view of the fact the fuel is mostly used for transportation. Subsidy for both fuels reached more than US$25 billion last year.
Crude prices have continued to slide on the internationa market due to oversupply, hitting below US$50 per barrel lately.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon