Subsidized Fuel is Assured Not to Rise, Pertamax Price Has the Opportunity to Fall

JAKARTA - The government ensures that the price of subsidized fuel will not rise until the end of the year. Instead, the price of a number of non-subsidized fuels has the potential to fall if world oil prices continue to weaken.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the condition of the national fuel stock was above the minimum limit. Crude oil and fuel supplies from a number of countries have also been secured until the end of the year.

"The increase in subsidized fuel, God willing, there is no increase at all," said Bahlil after meeting President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Monday (20/7).

Bahlil has asked Pertamina and private enterprises to prepare to adjust the price of non-subsidized fuel if the world oil price falls. However, the government has not set the time or amount of the decline.

When asked about the possibility of Pertamax prices falling next month, Bahlil said the government was still calculating the movement of Indonesian crude oil prices or Indonesian Crude Price (ICP).

"I will hold a meeting with Pertamina and other business entities. When the world oil price falls, we will adjust," he said.

According to Bahlil, the change in world oil prices is fast. Prices can go down in one day, then go back up in a short time. This condition is the basis for the government to find a price formula that does not burden consumers and business entities.

He said that non-subsidized BBM users account for about 20 percent of consumers. The government will consider the purchasing power of this group as well as the business conditions of oil companies.

Bahlil has not mentioned the schedule for meetings with business entities or the price limit of oil that will be the basis for reducing the price of non-subsidized fuel.