CAIRO: The Egyptian government has raised fuel prices from Friday based on the decisions of the Automatic Pricing Committee for Petroleum Products.
The committee, which meets every three months, issued a statement raising gasoline prices by 25 piasters ($0.016), with the price of a liter of 80 octane gasoline rising to EGP 6.75 ($0.43). The price of 92 octane gasoline is now EGP 8 per litre and high-quality 95 octane gasoline is EGP 9.
The price of diesel remains unchanged at EGP 6.75 per liter for public transport vehicles and EGP 3,900 per ton for the industrial sector.
The government implemented the new gasoline prices on Friday morning, according to a statement from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
The last price hike was in April, in line with the Egyptian government’s plan to gradually stop subsidizing fuel products within the framework of a reform program supported by the International Monetary Fund.
Prices have remained stable over the past year after dropping in April 2020 and October 2019.
FASTFACT
The price of diesel remains unchanged at EGP 6.75 per liter for public transport vehicles and EGP 3,900 per ton for the industrial sector.
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum stated that the pricing committee reviewed the average prices of Brent crude in the global market and the exchange rate of the dollar against the Egyptian pound for the period from April to June 2021.
These are the two most important factors “influencing the cost of providing and selling petroleum products in the local market, in addition to other burdens and costs,” the ministry said.
It said the committee’s recommendations reflected the current conditions in the world, such as the severe fluctuation in global prices resulting from the pandemic and the reduction of crude production.
Hossam Arafat, head of the General Division for Petroleum Products, said that the rise was due to the rise in the dollar, the increase in direct and indirect expenses and the rise in the price of a barrel of oil.
He said the prices of diesel used in public and private transportation would remain fixed. It means transportation ticket prices will remain unchanged.
Ahmed Mohamed, a government employee, said that the rise in fuel prices will not affect him because he does not own a car.
He said that the Egyptian government has been very open with its citizens for years, as it had told them that it would gradually stop subsidizing petroleum products.
