The government has ramping up efforts to cut down the ongoing power cuts, imposed weeks back as part of austerity measures, brining in some respite for the public.
Allying fears of long standing impact on economy in the wake of a sudden hike in fuel prices, Nasrul Hamid, state minister for energy and minerals resources, called the move as a temporary and expressed hope to bring down changes from next month.
Meanwhile, on Friday night the government has issued orders resulted in a sudden hike in all four major fuels, taking in effect from midnight, adding to the woes of people.
While this latest rise have came under some criticisms, Nasrul Hamid attributed this crisis to global headwinds at the outbreak of the ongoing Russia Ukarain war that saw a host of developing countries witness spiralling energy costs though Bangladesh still holds lower prices including the likes of its neighbours.
“As the war left the global supply chain in a tailspin, triggering troublesome costs for its people, hardly any other options can be left for the government unless rising the prices. Even this latest adjustments put our country with lower rates for consumers in comparison with neighbouring countries” says Nasrul Hamid, addressing journalists at an event in the capital.
Over the space of last four months, Bangladesh Petroleum Cooperation had to incur losses over Tk8000 crore to keep the market stable and even after this move the government would have to bear Tk8.13 in per litre for importing petrol, explained Nasrul, putting down recent speculative reports suggesting IMF condition acted as the “trigger” behind this staggering hike.
Importantly, Saudi Arabia, a key source market for Bangladesh and the world's top oil exporter, raised September crude oil prices for Asian buyers to record high levels despite falling refining margins, according to a report by Bloomberg.
