The government has raised the price of fuel oil by modifying the country's market in response to the increase in global fuel oil prices. For December, the prices of diesel, kerosene, petrol, and octane have been raised by two rupees per litre.
The Department of Energy and Mineral Resources released a notification regarding this on Sunday (November 30th). The new rates will take effect from Monday (December 1st).
Under the new pricing structure, the cost of diesel per litre has risen to Tk 104, kerosene to Tk 116, petrol to Tk 120, and the price of octane has been set at Tk 124 per litre.
It has been reported that the government initiated a process in March of last year to establish an automatic pricing mechanism for fuel oil in accordance with global market trends. A new price is declared each month. Currently, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) sets the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) monthly, aligning it with international market prices for fuel oil.
As per sources from the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the annual demand for fuel oil is approximately 75 lakh tons. About seventy-five percent of this demand is for diesel, while the remaining 25 percent is satisfied by various fuel oils, including petrol, octane, kerosene, jet fuel, and furnace oil. Diesel is predominantly utilized for agricultural irrigation, transportation, and generators.
BPC consistently profits from the sale of octane and oil, while its overall profit and loss are influenced by diesel sales. The BPC regularly adjusts the prices of jet fuel and furnace oil used in power plants, with the ERC overseeing this process monthly. The Department of Energy and Mineral Resources is responsible for setting the prices of diesel, kerosene, petrol, and octane.
According to the Department of Energy, fuel prices are established monthly in developed countries, with the exception of neighboring India.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared the implementation of an automatic fuel oil price fixing system on February 29 of the previous year as a stipulation for a loan. This new automatic fuel price fixing mechanism is expected to lower fuel prices in the global market, and should fuel prices increase again, it will enhance the country's market.
