Amman, March 31 (Petra) – The Fuel Pricing Committee held its regular meeting on Tuesday to review fuel prices for March and compare them with those of February, revealing significant and continuous increases in fuel prices, driven by regional developments.
Based on the government's policy of gradually reflecting global fuel price increases, which aims to contain their impact on local retail prices and mitigate their direct effects on Jordanians and economic sectors, the committee decided to adjust local fuel prices for April to reflect the global costs.
The government would gradually compensate for the cost differences resulting from this decision until global prices stabilise. It should be noted that, during the first month of the regional crisis, the government incurred direct energy and electricity costs amounting to approximately JD150 million to date.
According to the decision, the committee maintained the price of a 12.5 kg domestic gas cylinder at JD7, its previous price. It would subsidise the price of gas cylinders by JD2.4 per cylinder for April, despite the global increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices.
The committee decided to maintain the price of kerosene at JD.550 per liter without any increase. The prices of other petroleum products were set as follows: 90-octane gasoline at JD.910 per liter instead of JD.820, 95-octane gasoline at JD1.200 per liter instead of JD1.050 and diesel at JD.720 per lliter instead of JD.655.
The increase in petroleum product prices would not affect the government's tax revenues; rather, it reflects only a portion of the increase in global prices. The amount of government subsidy on diesel and kerosene exceeds the amount of tax imposed on these two fuels.
The committee explained that the actual costs of petroleum products for April were JD1.165 per liter for 90-octane gasoline, JD1.325 per liter for 95-octane gasoline, JD1.120 fils per liter for diesel, and JD1.135 per liter for kerosene.
The committee stated that the government did not pass on the full price increases to consumers. It reflected approximately 37% of the actual increase for 90-octane gasoline, about 55% for 95-octane gasoline and roughly 14% for diesel.
The increase for kerosene was fully absorbed, and no additional cost was passed on to consumers.
The committee said that the decision is part of an effort to balance the actual costs and local prices of petroleum products, in line with government policies aimed at mitigating the effects of global price fluctuations.
//Petra// AK
