Pertamina hikes Pertamax, Pertamax Plus, Avgas prices<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Users of Pertamax and Pertamax Plus gasoline will have to dig
\ndeeper into their pockets as of Thursday, following state oil and
\ngas firm PT Pertamina's decision to raise the prices of the two
\ntypes of fuel.<\/p>\n
Industries and airlines alike will also have to pay more for
\nPremium gasoline and kerosene, as Pertamina also adjusted fuel
\nprices for industrial use and the price of aviation fuel.<\/p>\n
Pertamina announced in a statement on Wednesday that the new
\nprices would come into effect on Sept. 1. In the announcement,
\nthe price of high-octane Pertamax will increase to Rp 5,700 (56
\nU.S. cents) per liter from the previous Rp 4,000 while the price
\nof Pertamax Plus will increase from Rp 4,200 per liter to Rp
\n5,900.<\/p>\n
However, the price of Pertamax DEX, Pertamina's high-grade
\ndiesel fuel, remains unchanged at Rp 6,300 a liter.<\/p>\n
Pertamina last increased the prices of the unsubsidized fuels
\nlast December by as much as 60 percent.<\/p>\n
"The decision to raise the prices was made on considerations
\nthat global oil prices have skyrocketed to record highs of late,"
\nPertamina spokesman Mochamad Harun said.<\/p>\n
Oil prices remained high as of Wednesday, closing at up to
\nUS$70.48 a barrel in New York and $68.05 in London for October
\ndelivery, as the market assessed the damage that Hurricane
\nKatrina had caused to U.S. oil production facilities.<\/p>\n
Harun further said that Pertamina has also raised the prices
\nof Premium gasoline and kerosene for industries, according to the
\nlatest market prices.<\/p>\n
The price of Premium fuel for industry was raised from Rp
\n4,640 to Rp 5,160 a liter, while the price of kerosene was raised
\nfrom Rp 5,490 a liter to Rp 5,600.<\/p>\n
The prices of diesel fuel and diesel oil decreased, however,
\ndue to a "slight oversupply despite recently soaring oil prices",
\nPertamina said. Pertamina adjusted downward the prices of diesel
\nfuel and diesel oil to Rp 5,350 and Rp 5,130 a liter,
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Since July, Pertamina has been applying the market price for
\ndiesel fuel for export-oriented companies, such as mining and oil
\nentities, doubling it from the subsidized Rp 2,200 charged
\nbefore, to ease pressure on the state budget.<\/p>\n
The government is anxiously looking for ways to suppress the
\nballooning fuel subsidy, which is expected to exceed its Rp 76.5
\ntrillion allocation in the revised 2005 state budget, should oil
\nprices remain above $60 a barrel and without efforts to cut down
\nconsumption.<\/p>\n
The application of market prices was then extended to power
\nproducers that do not sell output to state electricity firm PT
\nPLN, industries located in bonded zones and companies that
\nreallocate use from non-fuel to fuel.<\/p>\n
Pertamina claims that it can save up to Rp 20 trillion of the
\nfuel subsidy a year through the market price application.<\/p>\n
Pertamina also raised the price of its avtur, by an average of
\n6 percent, according to the related airport. The avtur price at
\nthe Soekarno-Hatta International Airport depot, for example, was
\nraised from Rp 5,038 a liter to Rp 5,357.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pertamina-hikes-pertamax-pertamax-plus-avgas-prices-1447893297",
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