LPG price to be increased by Rp 500 per kg in May

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina will raise the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for households by Rp 500 per kg beginning May, this year to help reduce the company's growing losses from the sales of LPG in the country, Kompas reported on Saturday.

Pertamina's director for commerce and marketing Achmad Faisal said in Jakarta on Friday that with the increase, the new price of LPG for households would be about Rp 5,700 per 12 kg-container as compared to Rp 5,100 at present.

"There will be a slight increase in LPG prices beginning next month. The price of LPG for households will be increased by Rp 500 to Rp 4,750 per kg. The increase of LPG for industries will be slightly higher," he added.

He said that the price of LPG would be still below the operating costs which reached between Rp 6,900 and Rp 7,000 per kg. "We will gradually increase the price to reach such price level this year," he added.

At present Pertamina suffers a loss of about Rp 2,500 from every kilogram of LPG it sells. The company said that it could suffer a loss of at least Rp 2 trillion from the sales of LPG this year, if it continues to maintain the current prices. The company sells about 200,000 tons of LPG to industrial buyers a year. (*)