The government has acted to cushion fuel prices and to reduce the diesel price by one baht, easing the strain on people’s cost of living amid continually rising global oil prices. The Ministry of Energy attributes the rising global oil prices to increased demand.
Minister of Energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow said the oil price in the world market has risen by 4-5 dollars to 40 USD per barrel, while prices of natural gas and coal have also risen. Prices continued to rise despite the OPEC group having ramped up production by 400,000 barrels per day. The energy minister said this prompted the government’s move to cushion oil prices, especially the widely used Diesel B7. He noted that the government had been encouraging B7 users to switch to Diesel B10, as the latter was cheaper than 30 baht per liter, but there were still some issues hindering the switch.
The minister said the Oil Fund currently has a little more than 10 billion baht remaining, and if the amount proves insufficient then borrowings can be made. However, he believed the current fuel prices situation had to do with fast-changing and cold weather in several regions of the world. Oil production in the United States and Russia have thus been impacted, while in Europe the demand for fuel has caused oil prices to increase by two- to threefold. He expected the government’s temporary reduction of biodiesel offerings to only B6, from October 11 to 31, to quell rising diesel prices. (NNT)
 |
 |
 |
