The price of RON97 petrol will go up by 15 sen at midnight tonight, two days after the government raised the price of RON95 and diesel by 20 sen.
Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) president Datuk Hashim Othman said the new price now will be RM2.85 per litre.
He said there was no earlier announcement as the association did not want to see long queues at petrol stations as witnessed on Monday after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the fuel hike, saying that it will save the government at least RM1.1 billion this year.
An official from the Finance Ministry told The Malaysian Insider that the price of the RON97 was not within the purview of the government but was floated based on market forces.
“The petrol companies have a say on the price of RON97. The price is dictated by market forces,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile CIMB chief economist Lee Heng Guie told The Malaysian Insider the increase in RON97 price was inevitable as even with the partial removal of the subsidy, RON95 was still being subsidised at 63 sen per litre so the actual pump price of RON95 was RM2.73.
The idea of RON97 sold at RM2.70 per litre would have defeated the purpose of the subsidy rationalisation programme.
“Only 3 to 4% of all motorists use RON97 so the impact of the increase is negligible,” said Lee.
In March this year, RON97 was increased by 20 sen to RM2.90 but two months later the price dropped back to RM2.70 in line with the dip in average global crude oil prices. – September 4, 2013.
