Government Keeps Fuel Prices Unchanged In May

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The government announced on Wednesday night that the fuel prices, as of May 1, 2015, will remain the same as a month earlier.

The fuel prices remain unchanged as the global oil prices are relatively the same as the previous period, Acting Director General of Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry I Gusti Nyoman Wiratmaja Puja stated.

As such, the price of premium gasoline outside Java and Bali remains at Rp7.3 thousand per liter, the price of subsidized diesel oil at Rp6.9 thousand per liter, and the price of subsidized kerosene at Rp2.5 thousand per liter, he noted.

On March 28, 2015, the government raised the price of premium gasoline to Rp7.3 thousand from Rp6.8 thousand a liter and the price of diesel oil to Rp6.9 thousand from Rp6.4 thousand a liter.

It was the second time that the government had increased fuel prices since President Joko Widodo took office in October 2014. However, the fuel prices were lowered twice earlier this year, on January 1 and January 19.

Wiratmaja remarked that the gasoline price in the international market, or the Means of Platts Singapore/MOPS, which serves as a gasoline price benchmark, as of May 1, 2015, is US$70 per barrel, or about the same as the previous period.

The rupiah's exchange rate used to set the fuel prices in May 2015 is Rp12,902 per US dollar.

"The price of non-subsidized premium gasoline for Java and Bali will be set by state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina after coordinating with the government. We hope it will also remain unchanged," he stated.

Pertamina had set the price of premium gasoline for Java and Bali at Rp7.4 thousand per liter, which came into effect as of March 28, 2015.

As per Presidential Regulation Number 191 of 2014, the government no longer subsidizes premium gasoline. (WDY)