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Gas, fuel oil may get costlier in Jan

Mosharraf says diesel, kerosene prices won't rise

Rejaul Karim Byron
The government plans to hike the prices of kerosene, diesel and gas in January in line with understandings reached under the Development Support Credits of the World Bank.
The government made clear its intention in a draft memorandum of economic and financial policies for October 2004-June 2005 submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on the Poverty •. Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) Arrangement, that had been in Dhaka between October 9 and October 26.
State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources AKM Mosharraf Hossain Wednesday told The Daily Star, "Gas prices may rise in January but we do not plan to increase the prices of diesel and kerosene in that month."
"The farm sector would be hit hard if diesel prices jump."
"In view of the substantial price surge in the world oil market since the beginning of FY05 and the Inflationary impact of the floods, domestic prices will however need to be adjusted gradually while taking into account social considerations," the draft memorandum observed.
The government in May last year put in place a pricing formula for the energy and power tariffs following discussions with the World Bank, under which prices are adjusted every six months on review of the domestic and international markets. The power tariff was reviewed in September but there had been no increase in the prices.
1 he government has been under intense pressure from donors to hike the fuel oil and gas prices since those had not been adjusted in line with the pricing formula. Hie IMF mission had also asked for a rise in the oil and gas prices.
Accordingly, the IMF pushed the inflation rate target up to 6.8 percent for this fiscal year from an earlier projection of 5.5 percent on the grounds that inflation will escalate on the back of a rise in the oil prices scheduled for January, sources said.
The last review in April-May called for a 5.77 percent Increase In the gas prices and a hike by 3.5 percent took effect in July last year. Sources said another hike of 2.2 percent may take place in January, which may see monthly charges for non-metered single-burner and double-burner atTk 3*10 andTk390.
The government also informed donors that prices will be reviewed monthly in line with the formula agreed with the World Bank, so that if the variation is greater than 10 percent prices will be immediately adjusted, sources said. Otherwise, they will be adjusted on April 1 and October 1 in accordance with the formula, they added.
Donors argued that kerosene and jet fuel prices were upped in May, but implementation of the pricing framework has been partial. Besides, prices of other petroleum products have not been adjusted since January last year, although international prices sawa sharp rise.
The prices of diesel and kerosene are now equivalent to 'I k 30 a litre in India after the prices were adjusted a few days back, while in Bangladesh they cost Ik 20 a litre.
Tlie donors warned that not only will the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation run the risk of counting losses because of the low prices on the domestic market compared to India's, valuable foreign currencies may also be smuggled out of the country.
Official sources said the government will review the fuel oil prices next month before deciding about whether to go for a hike.
"We were noraffectcd that much by the recent rise in the oil prices because we had bought fuel oil beforehand. We will mount watch on the border to check cross-border smuggling but we do not want to make the farmers suffer by raising oil prices. It is the farmers who lead our economy, * State Minister Musharraf said.