REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government is seeking to set a price ceiling on subsidized premium gasoline at Rp9,500 per liter to anticipate a possible rebound in global oil prices.
Acting Director General of Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Naryanto Wagimin following a leadership meeting of the ministry on Monday (12/1) told reporters that the government has taken into account the people's purchasing power while setting fuel prices.
"The coordinating minister for economic affairs has stated that the price of premium gasoline may be limited to a maximum of Rp9,500 per liter," he added.
It will not a problem for the people when the price of premium gasoline remains low like now, he noted.
However, when the price of premium gasoline surges, it will put pressure on the people's purchasing power, he observed.
"Therefore, the coordinating minister wants to set the maximum price of premium gasoline at Rp9,500 per liter," he stated.
According to Naryanto, the government has been observing a downward trend in global oil prices.
On Monday, oil price hit a 5.5-year record low in the Asian trading.
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude oil for the February 2015 shipment fell 81 cents to US$47.55 per barrel and the price of Brent dropped 90 cents to US$49.21 per barrel.
Analysts have predicted the prices of WTI and Brent crude oil to hit record lows of US$45 and US$48 per dollar this week.
With a downward trend in the global oil prices, the prices of non-subsidized gasoline and diesel oil will drop again on February 1, 2015, Naryanto pointed out.
The government lowered the price of subsidized gasoline to Rp7,600 from Rp8,000 and that of subsidized diesel oil to Rp7,250 from Rp7,500 per liter on January 1, 2015.
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