Octane price rises, diesel price slumps

THE Octane price in­creased a bit to K3,825 per litre for Octane 92 and K3,950 for Octane 95, whereas the fuel price de­creased to K4,150 for diesel and K5,050 for premium diesel.

The regulated fuel price caps were set at K3,710 for Octane 92 and K3,815 for Octane 95, K4,240 for diesel and K5,140 for premium diesel for the past two weeks end­ing 10 September.

The price index set by Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the pricing basis for many refined products in South-East Asia, influ­ences the domestic fuel prices, according to the Supervisory Committee on Oil Import, Storage and Distribution of Fuel Oil.

The committee is governing the market to ensure stable price and secure supply. Under the guidance of the Super­visory Committee, the Petroleum Products Reg­ulatory Department has been issuing daily refer­ence wholesale prices to ensure price stability for energy consumers.

The committee is in­specting the fuel stations to see whether they are over­charging. Authorities are taking an action against those retailers of fuel sta­tions under the Petroleum and Petroleum Products Law 2017 if they are found overcharging rather than the set reference rate.

As per the statement, 90 per cent of fuel oil in My­anmar is imported, while the remaining 10 per cent is produced locally. Domes­tic fuel prices are highly correlated with interna­tional prices. The State is steering the market to mit­igate the loss experienced by the importers, sellers and energy consumers. Consequently, the govern­ment is trying to distribute the oil at a reasonable price compared to those of re­gional countries.

Some countries lev­ied higher tax rates and hiked oil prices than Myanmar’s. However, Malaysia’s oil sector re­ceives government sub­sidies, and the prices are about 60 per cent lower than those of Myanmar. Every country lays down different policy patterns to fix oil prices, the Su­pervisory Committee on Oil Import, Storage and Distribution of Fuel Oil stated. — NN/KK