Pertamina may raise LPG prices

Pertamina may raise LPG prices

JAKARTA: PT Pertamina, Indonesia's state-owned oil company,
said it plans to boost retail liquefied petroleum gas prices next
month and January to cut losses from rising international prices.

The company is losing Rp 820 rupiah a kilogram of LPG at the
current selling price of Rp 3,000 rupiah (35 U.S. cents) a
kilogram, Achmad Faisal, the company's general manager for
domestic gas business, told reporters in Jakarta.

The company loses money on its LPG business because it buys 30
percent at market prices and resells it to consumers at a
subsidized price, he said.

"We're still calculating how big the increase is. But it will
be done twice, probably next month and in January, to avoid
giving our customers too much of a shock," Faisal said.
--Bloomberg