Intellasia East Asia News – Pertamax price hike due to global economic volatility: President

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The volatility in the global economy has influenced Indonesia’s fiscal sector and necessitated the increase in the price of non-subsidised fuel Pertamax to Rp12,500 per litre from April 1, 2022, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said.

“I think it is impossible for us not to increase the price,” he remarked at a Plenary Cabinet Session at the State Palace, Jakarta, on April 5, which was broadcast by the YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday.

The current global economic situation is posing difficulties as the economic fluctuation has triggered inflation in almost all countries, he noted.

Further, the increase in global inflation is starting to affect the public, he added.

The Indonesian President noted that inflation has also hit the world’s largest economy, the United States. The country’s consumer price index (CPI), which usually stands below 1 percent, has surged to 7.9 percent.

“The European Union (EU) is also having an inflation of 7.5 percent an increase from the usual inflation trend of around 1 percent. Meanwhile, inflation in Turkey has reached 54 percent,” he said.

Gradually, global inflation has hit Indonesia. Hence, the government is trying to prevent the prices from rising, however, it is not possible, Widodo said.

He then asked all ministers and heads of related institutions to continue maintaining gas and food prices to prevent them from burdening the community.

“We must be highly vigilant (to the increasing price) every day. The price of gas, energy, and food commodities must be continuously calculated every week,” he emphasized.

Earlier, state-run oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) had raised the price of Pertamax from Rp9 thousand (equivalent to $0.62 as of April 6, 2022) per litre to Rp12,500 (US$0.87) per litre.

The enterprise said that the higher price is still far below the economic value of the product, which is around Rp16 thousand (US$1.11) per litre.

https://en.antaranews.com/news/223681/pertamax-price-hike-due-to-global-economic-volatility-president

Category: Indonesia