The price of cooking gas rose by one baht per kilogram today (Apr 1) resulting in its price for a 15kg cylinder reaching 333 baht, ending two years of its frozen price due to the subsidy from the Oil Fund which had kept the retail price below its cost.
The 15kg cooking gas price increased from 318 baht and the rise will continue by one baht per kilogram per month until June when the total increment will be 45 baht per 15kg cylinder and the price will be 363 baht. That will be equal to its level in March 2020 just after COVID-19 started.
The price was kept low for slightly over two years thanks to the subsidy from the state’s Oil Fund. Despite the rise, the fund will continue with its subsidy to cap the price at 363 baht per 15kg.
The price increase is inevitable because the Oil Fund was already 37 billion baht in the red and nearly 30 billion baht of the loss resulted from the cooking gas subsidy.
Meanwhile, the fund must be spent to cap the diesel price at 30 baht per liter and the subsidy already cost it about 8 billion baht. The government is borrowing 20 billion baht for the Oil Fund. (TNA)
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