GOVT TO AVOID RAISING FUEL PRICES

Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The government has carried out a monthly evaluation of fuel prices in an effort to avoid fuel oil price increases, Communications and Informatics Minister M Nuh said.

"The government wants to avoid fuel oil price increases so that it will conduct monthly evaluations on the prices in an effort to adjust them to the world crude price," the minister said here on Monday.
He said the government did not want to set illogical fuel oil prices for the people so it was hoped that by conducting an evaluation the rational price was expected to be known.
"With the monthly evaluation we will know the appropriate price level bemuse we will then be able to see its impact on the real sector," the minister said.
He cited as an example the lowering of the premium gasoline price from Rp6,000 to Rp4,500 per liter which he said had created a real positive effect on the economy, directly or indirectly.
On Sunday, the head of the standing committee for domestic trade of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Bambang Soesatyo, hoped the government would lower further the price of premium gasoline to Rp3,900 per litre to boost public purchasing power.
"The government must be fair to the people following its plan to increase the salary of civil servants, the military (TNI) and the police by further lowering the price of premium gasoline, consumed by millions of families through public transportation to an economic level of Rp3,900 per liter," he said.
By reducing the premium gasoline price, he said, millions of households in Indonesia would enjoy their increasing buying power and an opportunity for them to increase consumption would be opened.
He said the effort to increase the buying power of the people would not be effective if it was limited to increasing the salary of civil servants and TNI/Police members.