Petroleum price may go up next month: Nasrul Hamid

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that the government is considering a hike in petroleum prices from next month.

"But the decision will come after discussion with all stakeholders including transport business operators", he told UNB on Friday.

He said the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has been incurring a loss of Tk 90 crore per day. Adjustment may come in the price of diesel and octane.

"To offset this loss we have to consider the adjustment in the fuel price. Neighboring India has already adjusted the price by raising Rs 50 per litre", he added.

About the BPC's huge profit of about Tk 50,000 crore in last 7 years, the state minister claimed that that profit has already been adjusted with the loss.

The government had last raised the prices of diesel and kerosene to Tk 80 per litre from Tk 65 with effect from November 4, 2021.

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday last said a decision on raising the petroleum prices will come soon.

"You will get informed whenever the decision is made," he told reporters while virtually briefing on the outcomes of the two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Wednesday.

He said the government always tries to bear the load when price of any product goes up in the international market.

"But when the cost goes up excessively, the government shares the load with people," he said.

He, however, did not respond to an information that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has made a profit of about Tk 50,000 crore since 2015.

Mustafa Kamal said the government's view is to give lesser pain to people.