Indonesia's president postpones fuel price hike, pending evaluation

Indonesia’s president has postponed an increase in fuel prices announced earlier so that state energy firm Pertamina can prepare, a spokesman of the energy ministry Agung Pribadi told Reuters on Wednesday.

Indonesia's national oil and gas company, Pertamina. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Yoshi Canopus/CC BY-SA 3.0

Pribadi earlier said the government had decided to raise the price range of RON 88 gasoline (usually called as 'Premium') to 6,900-7,000 rupiah ($0.45-$0.46) a litre from 6,450-6,550 rupiah due to a steep rise in crude oil prices.

“It’s postponed because Pertamina is not ready. We are evaluating,” Pribadi said, adding that the order came from the president.

RON 88 gasoline, sold by Pertamina, is not subsidised but its prices are regulated by the government. Pertamina has previously said it was selling the fuel at a loss. ($1 = 15,198.0000 rupiah).

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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