FUEL PRICE CUTS
More good news may be on the way for drivers who enjoyed new, cheaper fuel prices from yesterday thanks to the government's six-month cut in the excise tax for ethanol-based petrol and diesel.
PTT president Prasert Bumsumphun said yesterday that fuel prices could come down further within days in line with the global trend.
This time, he said, the decrease would reflect global demand and would not be related to government measures.
Motorists flocked to fill up their tanks yesterday after state authorities completed fuel stock taking at 2,300 petrol stations nationwide and petrol prices were cut by almost five baht a litre.
The lower prices took effect yesterday after officials from the Energy Business and Internal Trade departments, as well as police, checked fuel stocks at all stations from Thursday midnight to about 4am yesterday.
All the teams will report their stocktaking to the Energy Ministry in three days.
Since early yesterday morning, motorists jammed many petrol stations around the country. Many have avoided filling up during the past week.
Effective yesterday the excise tax for gasohol 91 and 95 was cut by 3.88 baht a litre, while the excise tax for diesel was brought down by 2.71 baht per litre.
Major retailers such as PTT, Bangchak and Shell also cut retail prices for all kinds of fuel. They reduced retail prices for gasohol 91 and 95 and E20 by 82 satang per litre, the prices for diesel by 79 satang per litre, and the prices for benzene 91 and 95 by 80 satang.
A worker at a petrol station on Vibhavadi Rangsit road said the number of motorists stopping to fill up at his station had fallen sharply in the past week probably because they were waiting for prices to come down. Customer numbers had now bounced back, he said.
Nevertheless, the worker said that many motorists were still reluctant to fill up as they anticipated that fuel prices would be cut even more in line with oil prices on the world market.
Permanent secretary for energy Pornchai Rujiprapa said after kicking off the stocktaking on Thursday night that consumers should reduce fuel consumption even though prices have been brought down significantly.
The Energy Ministry will use the state oil fund as a mechanism to regulate fuel consumption too, he said. If petrol prices fall further to a very low level, the ministry will collect a greater oil fund contribution from fuel retailers, he added.
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