Fuel oil prices show slight rise

The fuel market sees a slight increase of over K60-K95 per litre.
The prices stood at K2,515 per litre of Octane 92, K2,625 for Octane 95, K2,360 for diesel and K2,430 for premium diesel on 18 January 2024. The prices moved up a bit to K2,585 for Octane 92 and K2,720 for Octane 95, K2,430 for diesel and K2,495 for premium diesel on 19 January. The figures reflected a small rise of K65 and K95 per litre.
The price index set by Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), pricing basis for many refined products in southeast Asia, weighs on the domestic fuel prices, according to the Supervisory Committee on Import, Storage and Distribution of Fuel Oil.
In August 2022, the oil prices hit the highest of K2,605 per litre for Octane 92, K2,670 for Octane 95, K3,330 for premium diesel and K3,245 for diesel. The committee has been therefore steering the fuel oil storage and distribution sector effectively not to have a shortage of oil in the domestic market and has been issuing daily reference prices to ensure price stability for energy consumers.
The committee is inspecting the fuel stations whether they are overcharging or not. The authorities are taking actions 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. The domestic fuel price is highly correlated with international prices. The State is steering the market to mitigate the loss between the importers, sellers and the 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 compared to that of Myanmar. However, Malaysia’s oil sector receives government subsidies and the prices are about 60 per cent cheaper than that of Myanmar. Every country lays down different patterns of policy to fix the oil prices. Myanmar also levies only a lower tax rate on fuel oil and strives for the energy consumers to buy the oil at a cheaper rate. — NN/EM