The effect of higher lubricant prices

The effect of higher lubricant prices

A "bonus" to add to the burdens which the Indonesian people already shoulder in the crisis has been dispensed by our esteemed state-owned oil company Pertamina, which has announced a 55 percent increase in lubricant prices. Without taking advance measures to prepare the public, the company decided that the unilateral decision would be effective as of yesterday (March 25).

We understand that the company's overheads have risen due to rising operation costs and other expenditures. But considering that everybody else is already suffering from price hikes, Pertamina should have refrained from increasing the price of its lubricants.

During the economic crisis, any price increase is a sensitive matter. As an important cost component in the production of goods and services, lubricants play a relatively significant role. Any increase in their prices is certain to trigger increases in the prices of other goods and services, thereby imposing an added strain on the already severely taxed consumer.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta