Petrol prices may drop in October

PUTRAJAYA: Petrol pump prices may see another drop when Oct 1 comes around.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said if world market prices for fuel remained stable at US$109 for the rest of the year, Malaysians might even enjoy a 15 sen drop below the current rate of RM2.55.

"We will have to wait until the pump prices are revised come Oct 1 or by the middle of that month under our calculation formula.

"If world prices remain at US$109 per barrel until the end of the year, we can reduce prices by another 15 sen.

"So, please pray that the fuel prices won't climb again or better yet, for it to drop further," he told reporters Thursday after chairing the first National Finance Council meeting of the year at his office here.

Abdullah said petrol pump prices were revised last on Aug 22 in order to give the rakyat "the best deal" for fuel.

"At that time, the trend of fuel prices was going up again and the rakyat would not get anything by the end of the month if this continued.

"So, I thought that this was the best opportunity to get the best deal for the rakyat. If we revised the petrol pump prices on Sept 1, as decided originally, it would now have cost RM2.57 per litre as compared to RM2.55 per litre," he pointed out.

On the lessening of the value of the ringgit against the US dollar, Abdullah said the Government would not intervene. "The value has dropped but not to a level that is too drastic or worrying. We don't want the people to start panicking over this.

"There have been calls before to intervene when the ringgit's value was raising but the Government is very cautious on matters relating to the management of currency exchange," he said.

Abdullah said the Government had taken into consideration the lower value of the ringgit when tabling its Budget last Friday, including the bigger than usual 4.8% fiscal deficit.

"It won't be made a feature of all our budgets in the future. In fact, all the measures and plans announced under the recent Budget wouldn't have been possible if we had not taken the effort to reduce our fiscal deficits in the past.

"This is the time for us to focus on spending for the necessary things," he said.

On criticisms that the operating expenditure of RM154.2bil was huge, Abdullah said this was because the Government had to spend more on providing financial assistance for the people and enlarging its social safety net due to the current food and fuel crises.

"We feel we need to fork out more due to the extraordinary situation that has developed by giving a reasonable amount to the people so that they have more disposable income," he said.

Abdullah said while the expenses for the Prime Minister's Office and Department had increased, it was true for the other ministries as well.