State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit on Monday said the government was compelled to adjust fuel prices due to international market conditions and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, he was responding to questions on the recent fuel price hike.
He said there is a monthly mechanism for adjusting fuel prices in the country. However, as prices were last adjusted in April, no change was made in May.
The state minister said the government does not take such decisions unnecessarily. “But the realities of the international market and the Middle East crisis have created a situation where price adjustment has become unavoidable in some cases,” he said.
Amit noted that diesel receives the highest subsidy. “To keep pressure on ordinary people low, the price of diesel has again been left unchanged this time. Even then, adjustments had to be made in some sectors due to the situation,” he added.
On the possibility of future price cuts, he said: “In the past, people’s experience of price reductions was not very positive. But the current government is accountable to the people. If prices fall in the international market, a decision will be taken quickly to reduce people’s suffering.”
On Sunday night, a notification raised the prices of kerosene, petrol and octane by Tk 5 per liter, while diesel prices were kept unchanged.
