Only K20 difference per litre in retail reference price of diesel, octane 92

On 8 February 2023, the retail reference price of diesel fuel was only K20 per litre higher than that of octane 92, according to the reference prices.
The retail reference prices per litre of fuel on 8 February were only K2,155 for octane 92, K2,220 for octane 95, K2,175 for diesel and K2,255 for premium diesel. On 7 February 2023, octane 92 and diesel were traded at K2,075 and K2,185 per litre respectively.
The gap between octane 92 and diesel in the retail reference price per litre was K110 on 7 February and declined to K20 on 8 February.
In the fuel oil market, diesel prices tend to be higher than gasoline prices. Thus, the rental for diesel vehicles is higher than that for gasoline vehicles.
As most freight vehicles consume diesel rather than petrol, it is more convenient in transportation when the diesel price is only slightly higher than the petrol price, Ko Aung Zaw, a truck owner, told the GNLM.
Authorities make an announcement of fuel and edible oil reference prices based on foreign prices. The fuel oil price is announced daily and the price of edible oil is notified once a week.
On 6 February, a barrel of octane 92 and diesel was priced at US$92.18 and US$105.71 respectively in the foreign market. The prices changed to $96.64 and $105.23 respectively on 7 February, according to the daily foreign fuel prices. In the foreign fuel market, the price of gasoline is rising and that of diesel is falling, Ko Aung Zaw added.
Starting from May 2015, the weekly prices of gasoline were announced in the State-owned newspapers, and it is known that diesel was cheaper than gasoline in those years.
A barrel of diesel (50 gallons) in Yangon skyrocketed to around K300,000 in 2008. On 21 February 2009, the price dropped to K79,000. If we observe the domestic fuel price changes over the past decade and this year’s price changes, it can be seen that only diesel is mainly used in cargo transportation.
This year, diesel is more expensive than petrol. However, due to the situation these days, the price difference has become less, and the number of truck operators is increasing.
Compared with the end of August 2022, it is known that the price of diesel in this month has become cheaper by K1,000 per litre, around K5,000 per gallon and over K200,000 per 50-gallon barrel. — TWA/CT