Thailand reduces diesel prices by .30 bht/litre

BANGKOK, Dec 16(TNA) -Thailand's two government-supported petroleum firms, PTT Public Company Limited or PTT and Bangchak Petroleum Public Company Limited, announced Thursday that they will cut their retail prices of diesel fuel B3 and B5 by 30 satang (.30baht)per litre, effective Friday morning.

The move followed a government committee on energy policy management deciding at its recent meeting to subsidise the prices, through the state oil fund, by 50 satang per litre to meet the government's policy on curbing retail diesel prices on the domestic market within a 30 baht-per litre benchmark. Other local oil traders are likely to announce their decisions later today.

Thai Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul acknowledged that some five billion baht of the 27-billion-baht state oil fund would be used for the government's subsidy of both retail diesel and liquefied petroleum gas or LPG prices over the next 3-4 months if world oil prices remained unchanged during the period.

Wannarat said that retail gasoline prices on the domestic market should remain intact this week with world oil prices likely to remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, PTT and Bangchak were set to open 10 new gasohol E85 stations throughout the country within this week.(TNA)