The government has put in place automatic fuel pricing based on global market prices.The new formula will offer new prices on a monthly basis, starting today( Friday).
The new fuel oil price was announced by the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources on Thursday. Fuel oil prices have decreased since the nation's first announcement of automatic price fixing.
The announcement states that kerosene and diesel now cost 75 paisa less per liter. The price of octane has dropped by 4 Taka and that of petrol by 3 Taka.
Diesel and kerosene now cost Tk108.25 per liter instead of 109 taka. Octane used to cost Tk 130, but now it costs Tk126. Additionally, the cost of petrol has dropped from 125 to 122 Taka.
The notification underscored, the price of kerosene is kept equal to that of diesel to avoid adulteration.
It is said that the majority of the nation's petrol and octane is utilized in private automobiles. Therefore, as luxury goods, petrol and octane are always more expensive than diesel.
Sources said, selling petrol and octane always results in a profit for the government agency BPC. Essentially, diesel determines BPC's profit or loss. Diesel makes up 75% of the fuel used in the nation. Diesel sales have been profitable for the company for a considerable amount of time. However, diesel is not very profitable right now. There was a chance to lower prices earlier, according to industry experts.
The price of furnace oil used in power plants and jet fuel used in airplanes is regularly adjusted by BPC. And the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources sets the prices for petrol, diesel, kerosene, and octane. In August 2022, fuel prices rose by an average of 42% in order to relieve pressure from subsidies.
A motorbike user in the capital, Hossain Sazzad, told Bangladesh Post that he has been riding a motorcycle for the last 14 years. However, he was upset about the Tk3,000 he had to pay each month to buy octane. While the good news is that prices and rates will fluctuate monthly in line with the global market, the reduced cost did not make his life any easier; in fact, he had anticipated even more reduction.
According to recent media reports, the state minister for power, energy, and mineral resources has expressed confidence that the implementation of the "Fuel Pricing Guidelines," which were announced by the government through a gazette notification on February 29, will result in lower prices for petroleum fuel.
The prices of petroleum fuels, such as diesel, gasoline, octane, kerosene, furnace oil, jet fuel, and marine fuels, may be automatically modified on a monthly basis in accordance with the worldwide prices of those goods, in accordance with the guidelines so announced.
But according to the relevant government officials, such automatic pricing would also involve adjustments to other fees, like import duty and other taxes, as well as BPC's margin. If the global oil market does not suddenly become uneasy, the automatic pricing system for petroleum fuels will directly benefit consumers and have a sobering effect on the economy.
One of the requirements of the IMF, which granted Bangladesh a US$4.7 billion loan last year, has understandably led to this government decision to maintain domestic fuel oil prices tied to those of the international market.
The soaring costs of fossil fuels, particularly diesel, are a significant factor in the unchecked rise in living expenses. Despite this, the general public would like to welcome the automated price fixing regime, at least in part because they believe they will finally be able to benefit from any decline in fuel oil prices in the global market.
