Starting Wednesday (Sep 20), the price of diesel will see a reduction of two baht per liter, bringing it down to 30 baht per liter from the current approximate rate of 32 baht per liter. This reduction is part of a policy aimed at reducing the cost of living, which involves both tax cuts and the use of the oil fund to support prices until the end of the year.
This decision was made on Sept 13 by the Cabinet, in an effort to urgently alleviate the cost of living for the people. Diesel prices will be reduced by 2.50 baht per liter for a period of three months, starting from Sept 20 to Dec 31.
This reduction has resulted in a decrease in the excise tax on diesel from the current rate of 5.99 baht per liter to 3.67 baht per liter, with the remaining 0.32 baht per liter being allocated to further manage the oil and fuel fund.
As of Sept 19, the oil and fuel fund is currently supporting diesel prices at 8.98 baht per liter, which is considered the record high rate of support due to the continuous upward adjustments in global diesel market prices.
This oil and fuel fund was 61.641 billion baht in the red as of Sept 17 with a deficit of 16.902 billion baht in the oil account and 44.739 billion baht in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) account.
Energy analysts predict that the budget for diesel support in this three-month period will be around 70 billion Baht, estimated based on the diesel consumption in the country, which is approximately 70 million liters per day. (TNA)
