Fuel oil prices indicate slight upward trend

The fuel market sees an uptick of over K45-K105 per litre within one day.
The prices hit K2,705 per litre of Octane 92, K2,845 for Octane 95, K2,450 for diesel and K2,515 for premium diesel on 1 February 2024.
The prices increased slightly to K2,765 for Octane 92 and K2,890 for Octane 95, K2,555 for diesel and K2,600 for premium diesel on 2 February.
The price index set by Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the pricing basis for many refined products in southeast Asia, influences the domestic fuel prices, according to the Supervisory Committee on Oil Import, Storage and Distribution of Fuel Oil.
In August 2022, the oil prices hit the highest of K2,605 per litre for Octane 92, K2,670 for Octane 95, K3,330 for premium diesel and K3,245 for diesel.
Therefore, the petrol prices (Octane 92 and 95) broke the previous record prices.
The committee is steering the market for price stability and fuel oil security in the domestic market.
Under the supervision of the committee, the Petroleum Products Regulatory Department has been issuing daily reference prices to ensure price stability for energy consumers.
The committee is inspecting the fuel stations to see whether they are overcharging. The authorities are taking action against those retailers of fuel stations under the Petroleum and Petroleum Products Law 2017 if they are found overcharging rather than the set reference rate.
As per the statement, 90 per cent of fuel oil in Myanmar is imported, while the remaining 10 per cent is produced locally. The domestic fuel price is highly correlated with international prices. The State is steering the market to mitigate the loss between the importers, sellers and energy consumers. Consequently, the government is trying to distribute the oil at a reasonable price compared to those of regional countries.
Some countries levied higher tax rates and hiked oil prices than Myanmar’s. However, Malaysia’s oil sector receives government subsidies, and the prices are about 60 per cent cheaper than Myanmar’s. Every country lays down different patterns of policy to fix the oil prices. Myanmar also levies only a lower tax rate on fuel oil and strives for energy consumers to buy the oil at a cheaper rate. — NN/EM