A worker holds up a fuel pump nozzle after filling up the tank of a car at a petrol station in Cairo (Reuters)
Egypt slightly lowered domestic fuel prices on Friday but stopped short of a significant cut despite a plunge in oil prices due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying the global decline is temporary.
The price of the widely used 92-octane gasoline was lowered to EGP 7.50 a litre from EGP 7.75, 80 octane to EGP 6.25 a litre from EGP 6.5 and 95 octane to EGP 8.50 a litre from EGP 8.75.
The price of mazut fuel for industrial use was lowered by EGP 250 per ton to EGP 3,900.
Prices of all other petroleum products will remain unchanged.
Egypt's fuel pricing committee said in a statement that the decision was taken in light of "the unprecedented circumstances experienced by the global oil markets, as well as the global and local economic repercussions of the coronavirus crisis."
The committee said that since it's not expected that the sharp decline in global oil prices will continue, it decided to spare part of the savings generated by the drop to meet the expected rise in prices in the near future and to cope with the increasing burdens of fighting the coronavirus.
International oil prices continued to fall on Friday over doubts that a deal between OPEC and allies to make a record oil supply cut would be enough to offset the collapse in global fuel demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
This is the second cut Egypt has made to fuel prices, after a slight reduction of EGP 0.25 per litre in October 2019.
The new prices come into effect on Saturday at 08:00 am Cairo time.
Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said earlier this month that Egypt’s 2020-21 draft budget is based on an oil price of $61 per barrel, down from $68 in the current budget.
The fuel pricing committee reviews and adjusts the selling prices of some petroleum products on a quarterly basis through an announced price equation.
The committee's work standards entail that the prices should rise and fall with a maximum limit of 10 percent, to protect consumers and the state's budget alike.
The Egyptian government has raised fuel prices five times since 2014, completely lifting fuel subsidies.
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