Diesel and Petrol Prices Unchanged Across Major Bangkok Stations
PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) and Bangchak Corporation announced on July 29 that retail fuel prices in the Bangkok area would stay unchanged for July 30, holding the line for a second straight day after a round of increases the previous week. As of July 30, PTT and Bangchak list diesel at 36.69 baht a litre, diesel B20 at 31.69 baht, gasohol 95 and gasohol 91 at 36.69 and 36.32 baht respectively, gasohol E20 at 31.69 baht, gasohol E85 at 27.63 baht, and regular petrol at 45.68 baht a litre, according to price boards compiled by Thairath and Thansettakij. Other major chains including Shell, PT, Susco and Caltex were listing very similar prices for their standard grades, with only branded premium fuels priced higher.
The steady prices follow a bumpy stretch in late July, when OR and Bangchak raised most petrol, gasohol and diesel prices by 0.85 baht a litre from 5am on July 22, followed by a further increase of about 90 satang a litre on July 23, according to Nation Thailand and Thansettakij. Since then, retailers have kept pump prices frozen, with price boards showing no change heading into July 30 as the market awaited the next round of policy decisions from Thailand's energy regulators.
Oil Fund Deficit Tops 65 Billion Baht as Diesel Subsidy Deepens
Behind the stable pump prices is a state Oil Fuel Fund that is absorbing a growing share of the cost. According to the Energy Policy and Planning Office, the fund's status as of July 26 stood at a deficit of 65.76 billion baht, made up of a 26.37-billion-baht shortfall on oil products and a 39.39-billion-baht shortfall on LPG. To keep diesel affordable, the fund is currently subsidizing regular diesel by 8.70 baht a litre and diesel B20 by nearly 12.93 baht a litre, offsetting a global crude market that has swung between roughly 84 and 100 US dollars a barrel this year amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran in the Middle East, Thansettakij reported.
To ease the strain, Thailand's Energy Policy Administration Committee approved a 2.40-baht-a-litre cut to the ex-refinery price of diesel from July 24 through August 15, funded by an estimated 3.89 billion baht in surplus refining margins recorded in the first half of July. Officials say the move, alongside the Oil Fuel Fund's ongoing subsidies, is intended to keep retail prices from spiking in line with global crude even as the fund's own finances remain deeply in the red, with energy officials maintaining the fund still has enough capacity to keep holding the line on pump prices for now.
