Egypt raises Gazoline Prices

Egypt raised gasoline prices by up to 50%, the oil ministry said on Saturday, under an IMF reform plan that calls for the slashing of state subsidies on some consumer products.

Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said the price rises will help Egypt save up to 50 billion EGP in allocations for state subsidies in the 2018-19 state budget.

The price hike, the third since Egypt floated the pound currency in November 2016.

The ministry said that the price for 95 octane gasoline was increased to 7.75 EGP a liter from 6.60; 92 octane was increased to 6.75 EGP a litre from 5 and 80 octane was raised to 5.50 EGP a litre from 3.65.

The ministry also raised the price for a canister of gas for Egyptian households to 50 EGP from 30, while a bottle of gas for commercial purposes was raised to 100 EGP from 60.

Molla said the price rise will cut the funds allocated for fuel subsidies to 89 EGP billion from 139 billion .

“Moving fuel prices will help reduce petroleum products consumption by about 5%,” Molla said.

Halfway into a three-year, $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan program signed in late 2016 which is tied to tough austerity measures, hopefully will lure back foreign investors and kickstart an economy that crashed after its 2011 Arab Spring uprising.