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Price of cooking gas remains stable
Petrol prices in Laos and the rest of the world have been on the increase but, in some good news, local suppliers of cooking gas have maintained the same price level as last year.
“The price of cooking gas remains stable because the cost of importing gas from Thailand has not changed,” said a senior official from the Lao Petroleum and Gas Association, Boualy Sisouk, on Friday. Mr Boualy is also Standing Head of the Lao State Fuel Company's gas service centre.
The current gas price is 173,000 kip per 15kg tank, where it has been since last November. The price is adjusted only a few times each year, unlike petrol prices.
“The price is set by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. We cannot adjust it by ourselves,” Mr Boualy said.
The gas price was adjusted upwards a total of three times last year. In 2009 it was adjusted five times, both up and down.
The Lao State Fuel Company's gas service centre imported only 320,000kg of gas last year compared with 470,000kg in 2009.
Imports dropped because the company can not compete with the cheap gas that sells near the border.
“People go and buy it there easily because it costs only about 80,000 kip per 15kg,” he said.
Currently petrol stations are selling premium petrol for 10,570 kip per litre, regular petrol for 9,520 kip per litre and diesel for 8,220 kip per litre in Vientiane.
They are also selling premium petrol between 10,590 and 10,690 kip per litre, regular petrol 9,560 to 9,850 kip per litre and diesel 8,260 to 8,540 kip per litre in the provinces of Khammuan, Savannakhet, Champassak, Bokeo and Xieng Khuang.
Last week the ministry adjusted the price of petrol upwards by 250 to 320 kip per litre in Vientiane, and by 240 to 320 kip per litre in the five provinces.
Petrol prices fluctuate in Laos depending on shifts in the global oil market.
There were 14 petrol price adjustments by the ministry last year, 10 of them increases. That followed 15 adjustments in 2009, of which 11 were price rises.
Singapore AP reported that oil prices fell to near US$91 a barrel on Friday in Asia as traders mulled whether demand in a slowly recovering US economy would be enough to push crude above US$100 soon.
Benchmark oil for February delivery was down 19 cents to US$91.21 a barrel late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude lost 46 cents to settle at US$91.40 on Thursday.
Vientiane Times
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