Govt hikes fuel prices

The government has raised prices of fuel oil in line with global rates, according to a notification issued Saturday night.

The new prices for consumers would come into effect from Sunday, said the notification issued by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

As per the notification, the price of one litre octane has been raised by Tk20 to Tk140, price of one litre petrol by Tk19 to Tk135, price of one litre kerosene by Tk18 to Tk130, and the price of one litre diesel by Tk15 to Tk115.

At the beginning of April, the government had decided to keep the prices same for the second month in a row by spending a huge sum on subsidies to weather a global energy supply crisis.

The prices were last hiked in February.

According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the country’s annual fuel oil demand is around 75 lakh tonnes, 75% of which is met by diesel and the remaining 25% by other types of refined oil. Diesel is used for irrigation, public transports and industrial power generation.

Octane and petrol are used in cars used by wealthy individuals and organisations, allowing regulators to categorise these as luxury items, and keep rates higher compared with other types of fuel oil.