Govt hikes diesel price by Tk1 per litre, petrol and octane by Tk2.50 for May

The government has increased the diesel price by Tk1 to Tk107 per litre for the month of May.

Besides, the prices of petrol and octane have been hiked by Tk2.50 per litre to Tk124.50 and Tk128.50 respectively.

The new prices will come into effect from 12:00am 1 May, according to a gazette of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

The price hike in fuel oils comes under the automatic fuel oil pricing system aligned with the international market that came into effect this month.

Earlier on 31 March, the government announced a  Tk2.25 reduction in diesel prices for April 2024.

The prices of octane and petrol, however, were kept unchanged to Tk126 and Tk122, respectively, states the notification.

The government launched the new formula to fix fuel oil rates on 7 March according to the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.7 billion loan. Prices will be fixed every month with the new automatic system. Two instalments of the loan have already been released. 

On 29 February, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) issued a notification on Automatic Fuel Oil Pricing Guidelines.

According to the notification, the prices of all petroleum fuels – petrol, diesel, octane, kerosene, furnace oil, jet fuel, and marine fuels – will be set automatically based on the international market price.

Meanwhile, in a separate gazette notification on Tuesday, the government also raised gas prices for power plants.

As per the notification, the power plants will pay Tk 15.50 per cubic metre (each unit), up by Tk0.75 while captive power plants will pay Tk31.50 per unit, up by Tk0.75 until further order.

The price will be effective from 1 May, said the notification.