GOVT LIKELY TO CUT DIESEL OIL PRICE IN DECEMBER: MINISTER

Jakarta, Nov 9 (ANTARA) - The government is likely to cut the price of subsidized diesel oil in December if global crude prices continue to fall in November, a minister said.
The government will look at developments in the global crude prices this month, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Sunday.
"We keep monitoring the oil prices in November which still has 22 days left. If the global oil prices in November fall quickly they will affect the price of diesel oil in December," he said.
In addition to the global crude prices, the government is also monitoring the rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar and reviewing the amount of fuel oil subsidy before deciding to cut the price of subsidized diesel oil, he said.
The government is also looking at developments in the three factors in the previous month in order to set the price of diesel oil in the current month, he said.
"So, the price in December is based on data in November and the price in November is based on data in October," he said.
The government on Thursday (Nov 6) announced it will lower the price of subsidized gasoline to Rp5,500 a liter from Rp6,000 a liter as of December 1.
Meanwhile, the prices of subsidized diesel oil and kerosene remain at Rp5,500 a liter and Rp2,500 a liter respectively.
The government plans to evaluate the prices of subsidized fuel oil once every month following a recent drop in global crude prices.
The global crude prices fell to below US$60 a barrel in the past few days.