Govt may further cut price of subsidized premium gasoline

The government is considering to further cut the price of subsidized Premium gasoline from the current Rp 5,500 per liter (1US$= Rp11,900) in line with a continued decline in prices of crude oil in the international market.

Speaking in Jakarta on Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and other related ministers were still assessing the possibility of further lowering the price of the fuel in order to help industries cope with the impact of the slowdown in the global economy.

The President said that the government was also planning to lower the price of the subsidized diesel oil which was still maintained at Rp 6,000 per liter when the government cut the price of the subsidized Premium gasoline beginning December 1.

He said a further adjustment in the price of the subsidized Premium gasoline was possible because it had reached its market value thanks to the continued decline in the fuel price in the international market. (*)