Price adjustments fairer to consumers: SCB
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The fuel price adjustments, taking effect today, brings about greater fairness to petrol users while a hike in diesel retail prices will slightly affect the logistics cost, said Siam Commercial Bank's research.
The Economic Intelligence Unit said that the National Energy Policy Committee's resolution yesterday means that a large number of consumers, who consume 700 million litres of 95-octane petrol and gasohol products, would benefit from price cuts.
Under the resolution, diesel price is raised by Bt0.14 per litre to Bt30, the ceiling having been imposed since 2011 and changed after the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took control of the country.
Meanwhile, the retail prices of 95-octane petrol, gasohol 95, gasohol 91 and gasohol E20 will be cut by Bt2.13, Bt1.70, and Bt1 per litre, respectively. Gasohol E85 price remains unchanged.
"We estimate that the adjustment in diesel pump price will raise the logistic cost by only 0.5 per cent," SCB said in its research note.
It noted that despite the adjustment, the price gap of 95-octane petrol and gasohol products remains high, which should further encourage more consumers to use the ethanol-mixed products. It expects ethanol consumption to increase by 5 per cent.
The adjustment will lower inflows to the Oil Fund by Bt1 billion a month to about Bt2.5 billion. SCB is convinced that in the next step, the LPG prices for transport and household use would be gradually raised to Bt24.83 per kg, which will improve the Oil Fund's finances.
