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Indonesia has hiked fuel prices as much as 30 per cent across the country after the government reduced some of the costly energy subsidies, reports AP. The increase has increased the price of gasoline from around 51 cents to 67 cents per litre. The price of diesel has risen from 35 cents to 46 cents.
According to the report, Indonesians have been worried for weeks about a possible increase in the price of Pertalite RON-90 gasoline sold by Pertamina, the country’s state-owned oil and gas company. According to the report, this is the first increase in eight years.
The price hike of both petrol and diesel resulted in long lines of motorbikes and cars snaking around refuelling stations as motorists waited for hours to fill up their tanks with cheaper fuel before the increase took effect on Saturday.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in an official statement that raising fuel prices was his last option because the country’s energy subsidy had tripled this year to $34 billion from its original budget due to rising global oil and gas prices. “The government has done everything possible because I want fuel prices to remain affordable.” In difficult situations, the government must make decisions,” he added.
The Indonesian government has subsidised fuel for decades in Indonesia, the vast archipelago nation of more than 270 million people.
Indonesia is not the first country that witnessed a significant surge in fuel prices in recent times. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh are other countries too witnessed a massive hike in petrol and diesel prices in recent times. India too, had to went to through such a phase. Petrol and diesel still sell at around ₹100 per litre pricing in many cities across India.
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