Finance Minister Assures No Increase in Subsidised Fuel Prices Until Year-End

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has emphasised that the prices of subsidised fuels will not increase until the end of this year. However, he could not predict or guarantee the dynamics of non-subsidised fuel prices, as those commodities do not receive price relief from the government. “We are prepared not to raise (subsidised fuel prices) until the end of the year, assuming oil prices stay at US$100 per barrel through the end of the year,” Purbaya stated during a working meeting with House of Representatives Commission XI on Monday (6/4). Purbaya explained that the government has prepared various mitigation measures and calculated the resilience of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) if global oil prices rise to US$80 per barrel or even US$100 per barrel. “So throughout this year, with an average price of US$100 per barrel, it is safe,” Purbaya asserted. In addition to the APBN budget, Purbaya noted that the government still has other funding sources to anticipate pressures from global oil prices, one of which is the Remaining Budget Surplus (SAL) amounting to Rp420 trillion, including Rp200 trillion already placed in banking. He said the government also has various revenue positions that can serve as a buffer for the subsidy budget needs, such as Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) from the energy and mineral resources (ESDM) sector. “But the important thing is, the funds are there, our concept is still in place, and later the Minister of ESDM will promise revenues greater than the increases in global oil and coal prices,” he explained. In response, Chairman of House of Representatives Commission XI, Mukhamad Misbakhun, stated that the government’s commitment not to raise subsidised fuel prices is crucial for the public. “What you conveyed last is very important for the public to know: that even with fuel exercises at US$80 per barrel, US$90 per barrel, or US$100 per barrel, the country is ready. This is what must be conveyed: that the government is prepared not to raise (subsidised fuel prices) until the end of the year,” he clarified.