State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit has said that fuel prices in the domestic market will be reduced promptly if prices decline in the international market, ensuring that consumers receive the benefit.
He said the government had been compelled to adjust fuel prices due to volatility in the global energy market and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
The state minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists at the Secretariat on Monday in response to a question regarding the recent increase in fuel prices.
He said Bangladesh follows a monthly fuel price adjustment mechanism. However, since prices were adjusted in April, no further changes were made in May. Due to recent international developments and fluctuations in global fuel prices, the government had to take a fresh decision on price adjustments.
“The government never wants to increase fuel prices unnecessarily. But the situation in the international market and instability in the Middle East have created circumstances where price adjustments became unavoidable in some cases,” he said.
The state minister said the government provides the highest level of subsidy on diesel and kept its price unchanged this time as well to reduce pressure on ordinary people.
“Despite this, the prevailing global situation forced the government to adjust the prices of several other fuels,” he added.
Regarding the possibility of reducing fuel prices in the future, Amit said, “In the past, people did not always receive the benefits quickly even when international prices declined. However, the present government is accountable to the people. If global prices fall, decisions will be taken quickly to ease public suffering.”
Earlier on Sunday night, the government issued a notification increasing the prices of kerosene, petrol and octane by Tk5 per litre, while keeping diesel prices unchanged.
According to the government, the adjustment was made to maintain consistency with the international market.