Oil prices surge as Bahlil confirms subsidised fuel prices will not rise

JAKARTA — Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia emphasised that the government has no plan to raise subsidised fuel prices despite rising crude oil prices. He said the government remains committed to keeping subsidised fuel prices stable through to the end of the year, in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s directives. “There has not been any increase; it will not rise, God willing—please pray that we will not raise the subsidised fuel subsidy. God willing, until the end of the year,” Bahlil told reporters at the Ministry of ESDM in Jakarta on Tuesday, 19 May 2026. Crude oil prices have indeed fluctuated. The average price of Indonesian crude—Indonesian Crude Price (ICP)—for April 2026 was US$117.31 per barrel, up from March 2026 at around US$102.26 per barrel. Nevertheless, looking from January to date, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources records the ICP average remaining in the range of US$80–81 per barrel. “Our ICP average right now is roughly around US$80, US$80–81 from January to the present. So it has not reached US$100 yet,” he said. Earlier, the Director General of Oil and Gas (Migas) at the Ministry of ESDM, Laode Sulaeman, said that the ICP rising trend cannot be separated from the strengthening of global crude prices. The strengthening of major crude prices in the global market in April 2026 was generally influenced by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region, particularly the conflict between the United States (US), Israel and Iran, which raised concerns about disruptions to global oil supply. “The increase in crude oil prices in April 2026 was influenced by the ongoing escalation of geopolitical conflict that heightened the risk of disruption to world oil supply, particularly related to conditions in the Middle East and the Hormuz Strait,” Laode said in a statement on Tuesday (19 May 2026). He noted that various developments throughout April 2026 have also placed pressure on the world oil market, ranging from the closure of the Hormuz Strait, the US blockade of Iranian ports, to attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East. These conditions have heightened market concerns about the stability of global energy supplies. In addition to geopolitical factors, China’s economy grew by 5 per cent year-on-year in Q1-2026, also providing positive sentiment for global oil demand. “The government will continue to monitor developments in the global oil market carefully to safeguard national energy resilience and ensure domestic energy supply stability,” Laode said.