LPG prices witness 2.5pc hike in Oct
12-kg cylinder Tk 1,456 each
FE REPORT | Thursday, 3 October 2024
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) raised further the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by around 2.50 per cent for October trading.
The new price for a 12-kg LPG cylinder is now Tk 1,456, a hike by Tk 35 from September's Tk 1,421. The price of such a container was Tk 1,377 in August.
The new prices came into effect from Wednesday evening, according to a BERC statement.
BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed announced the new LPG prices at a press conference in BERC office at Kawran Bazar in the city on Wednesday.
The BERC adjusted cooking fuel prices for the domestic market based on the Saudi Aramco contract price for October 2024. It also factored in fluctuations of foreign exchange rates and changes in value-added tax (VAT).
The Saudi Aramco CP (contract price) of propane and butane is US$625 and $620 per tonne respectively for September trading.
The BERC calculated an average price of $621.75 per tonne by considering a propane and butane mixture at a ratio of 35:65. The commission has been setting LPG prices for private operators within the first week of every month since April 2021.
The private sector can sell LPG in various cylinder sizes - 5.5kg, 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 35kg and 45kg - to consumers at proportionally higher prices in September, according to the BERC price hike statement.
The price of LPG supplied through a reticulated system or centralised storage system will be Tk 261.10 per cubic metre, including VAT, for October, compared to Tk 254.70 per cubic metre in September.
The retail price of autogas, the LPG used in vehicles, was set at Tk 66.84 per litre, including VAT, for October, compared to Tk 65.26 per litre in September.
The price of the state-owned LP Gas's LPG, however, remained unchanged at Tk 690 per 12.5-kg cylinder.
Sources said that currently around 27 LPG operators are in business, although licences were issued to about 58 companies.
Some 26 operators import about 1.10 million tonnes of LPG from the international market, which accounts for around 98 per cent of the country's total LPG demand, while seven are satellite operators.