File Photo: A worker gestures for cars to move as others fill up at a petrol station in Cairo. (Photo: AFP)
Egypt announced it will implement a quarterly price index mechanism on all petroleum products, a few hours after it introduced on Friday new fuel price hikes under the latest round of fuel subsidy reforms.
A decree, published in the Official Gazette on Friday, by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the country will enforce the mechanism by the end of June, exempting gas cookers, the electricity sector and bakeries from the mechanism.
The new price will be linked to global gas prices, the decree added.
The price of petroleum products should not increase or decrease by more than 10 percent, the decree read.
A similar decision was made by the government last June on 95 octane gasoline, with the automatic pricing index beginning last April.
The latest round of subsidy cuts is part of a reform package agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Gasoline and diesel fuel prices increased by EGP 1.25 per litre. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Petroleum, the 95 octane gasoline priced hiked to EGP 9 from EGP 7.75 per litre.
The 92 octane gasoline saw an increase from EGP 6.75 per to EGP 8 per litre, whereas gasoline 80 increased to EGP 6.75 from EGP 5.5 per litre.
Diesel fuel increased from EGP 5.5 to EGP 6.75 per litre, while a litre of natural gas for vehicles increased to EGP 3.5 from EGP 2.75.
Cooking liquefied petroleum gas prices increased by 30 percent, from EGP 50 to EGP 65 for a cylinder.
The latest cut in fuel subsidies is a condition of a $12-billion loan secured from the IMF in November 2016.
This is the fifth and final hike in petrol prices as Egypt prepares to receive the last $2-billion tranche from the IMF.
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