Fuel prices may be raised by minimum 50%: Minister

The government may raise next month fuel prices by an average 50 percent, much higher than the the previous hike of 29 percent in March 2005, the Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported in its Thursday edition.

State Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the government is considering one scenario in which fuel price hike will average at least 50 percent, in a bid to ease the burden of the state budget in covering the increaseing cost of fuel subsidy amid rising international oil prices.

"One of the base line scenarios will be raising prices (of fuel )on an average of minimum 50 percent...," Sri Mulyani said in Jakarta on Wednesday, but added that the final decision will be by the President, who is now still on overseas trip.(*)