Pertamina plans further LPG prices raise

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina would further raise prices of LPG for industrial users by the end of the year to cut loss, the company officer said.

"We plan another increase this year so that by the end of the year, the LPG prices will reach their economic level," Pertamina's deputy director for marketing and commerce Hanung Budya said, adding that at present Pertamina still suffered losses from the sales of LPG due to the high transportation costs of the fuel.

He said Pertamina hoped by the end of this year, the price of LPG would be further increased to above Pertamina's purchase price of about Rp 6,853 per kg.

Pertamina has raised the price of LPG from Rp 3,870 to Rp 5,071 per kg for the purchase from the company's storages and to Rp 5,280 per kg for the purchase from its filing stations or LPG transportation vehicles.

The increase in prices that began effective Monday was part of the company's program to bring the LPG prices to their economic level by the end of this year.

Pertamina's total LPG sales for industries reach about 148,200 tons a year. (*)