Pertamina to reduce fuel supply by 5.41%

State oil and gas firm Pertamina plans to cut fuel supply by 5.4 percent starting this week as demand falls because motorists are staying at home to watch World Cup soccer matches, The Jakarta Post reported on Saturday.

Pertamina will reduce its daily fuel supply to 175,000 kiloliters a day from 185,000 kiloliters at the beginning of June, company spokesman Mohamad Harun said Friday.

Current demand is 144,400 kiloliters a day, he said.

Indonesia buys about a third of its oil products overseas because its daily refining capacity of 1.06 million barrels is not sufficient to meet consumption.

Pertamina increased supply by 12 percent at the start of this month in anticipation of higher demand in June and July during the school holidays, Harun said on June 7.

Pertamina this week sold on average 43,300 kiloliters of gasoline a day. (*)