Fuel Price Adjustment Cannot Be Avoided, Here Are the Positive Impacts
Non-subsidised fuel Pertamax (RON 92) has undergone a price adjustment to Rp 16,250 per litre from the previous Rp 12,300 per litre. This was done to maintain a balance between affordability for the public and the sustainability of the national fuel supply.
Piter Abdullah, Policy and Program Director at the Prasasti Center for Policy Studies, assesses that the price adjustment is related to the current geopolitical situation. He considers the government’s move to be very reasonable.
‘We know the geopolitical conditions, especially the US-Iran war, have caused world oil prices to rise and the rupiah to depreciate. A domestic fuel price increase is a certainty. It has happened before. But for Pertamax fuel, it has been held back by Pertamina/the government all this time,’ he told CNBC Indonesia on Thursday (11/6/2026).
Piter emphasised that neither Pertamina nor the government can hold back the rise in oil prices. According to him, the price increase is precisely to maintain the energy supply and the health of the downstream oil and gas industry.
‘If the price of Pertamax fuel is not raised, hoarding and smuggling are a certainty. Scarce fuel will end up being expensive on the black market. This has already happened in several places, especially outside Java. The public will suffer in the end,’ Piter added.
On the other hand, Piter continued, holding down fuel prices would increase the subsidy burden and threaten the State Budget. This would later prevent the government from implementing other programmes needed by the public.
‘It means the public will also bear the burden. I think the public needs to understand that this fuel price increase is an inevitability that should be accepted gracefully,’ Piter explained.
Previously, Sigit Setiawan, VP of Commercial and Shipping Business Development at Pertamina Patra Niaga, explained that fuel prices on the global market experienced a significant increase due to heightened international geopolitical tensions, driving up world crude oil prices. He noted that Pertamina has endeavoured to hold back the selling price of non-subsidised fuel, especially Pertamax, even though its import procurement costs have already exceeded the price sold at petrol stations. This Pertamax price increase is the first since the spike in world oil prices following the Israel-Iran war erupted on 28 February 2026. While other non-subsidised fuels have seen price increases since 18 April 2026, the Pertamax fuel price had not yet been adjusted. He stated that the economic price for Pertamax fuel is now around Rp 20,000-Rp 21,000 per litre, meaning that even at the new price of Rp 16,250 per litre, it remains below its economic value. ‘Pertamax RON 92 happens to be in the market; because of the geopolitical situation yesterday it went up. RON 92 in the market already has a price of around Rp 20,000 or Rp 21,000. And we still held back, still tried to hold it at Rp 12,300,’ he explained at a DEN Energy Discussion event at IPB Campus Bogor. He stated that by regulation, the pricing of non-subsidised domestic fuel follows market prices and does not receive fiscal assistance from the government. For this reason, Pertamina stressed that the price adjustment is crucial to ensure the company’s ability to repurchase fuel raw materials on the international market to safeguard the resilience of the national stock.