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Baht/$ 33.64/67
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GOLD |
14,900
+ 200
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PETROLEUM
POST REPORTERS
PTT Plc may reduce pump prices again next week after it cut prices for two consecutive days this week unless Middle East political tension escalates, according to Chaiwat Choorit, senior executive vice-president for the oil business at the majority state-owned oil company. He said PTT was watching the movement of oil prices closely this weekend to see whether the test-firing of missiles by Iran would drive up tensions and affect oil prices.
PTT this week has cut its retail oil prices by a total of one baht per litre for all fuel types in line with the decline of nearly $10 in world crude prices on Monday and Tuesday.
''We will see if there is good news for motorists again on Monday, even though the crude price jumped $5.60 a barrel overnight on Thursday on Iran's missile test,'' Mr Chaiwat said. ''We are hopeful [the Iranian action] will not push the price too much.''
Oil climbed above $143 a barrel yesterday in Asia, boosted by concerns over possible disruption to tight global supplies amid tensions over Iran's launch of test missiles and the possible renewal of oil-related violence in Nigeria.
In Singapore, light, sweet crude for August delivery was up $1.99 at $143.64 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
PTT also forecasts that the global price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will reach $1,000 per tonne soon, causing more damage to the company, which is the sole importer of LPG.
Since early this year, the government has kept the LPG price fixed at $330 a tonne, and PTT has had to absorb the extra cost of importing the fuel, for which demand is surging among motorists looking for alternatives to petrol.
Mr Chaiwat estimated that owners of about 100,000 vehicles were currently waiting to convert their engines for LPG.
The number of vehicles running on LPG rose to 1.2 million at the end of last month from fewer than 80,000 a year ago. Consequently, demand for imported LPG will soon climb to 60,000 tonnes per month _ triple the amount imported in April, when Thailand became an LPG importer for the first time.
PTT will need to expand capacity at its biggest depots in Borya, Si Racha and Songkhla to prevent a possible shortage of LPG supplies in the future. The investment has not yet been finalised.
''We are trying to do our best to serve LPG demand,'' he said. ''We foresee a probable supply disruption caused by the monsoon to some shipments, so depot expansion will be needed to ensure adequate supply at all times.''
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