Drop in fuel prices welcome, but should have been bigger — motorists

AMMAN — Motorists on Saturday said the latest drop in fuel prices was "not bad" but the government should have lowered them further. 

On Friday, the government's pricing committee lowered the prices of main fuel products for November following a sharp drop in international oil prices. 

Diesel and kerosene prices saw the biggest dip of around 8.7 per cent, going down from 630 fils to 575 fils per litre. 

Under the new pricing list, 90-octane gasoline, used by the majority of motorists in the Kingdom went down by nearly 7 per cent to 735 fils a litre from 790 fils, while one litre of 95-octane dropped by around 6.8 per cent — from 960 fils to 895 fils. 

The price of gas cylinders, which is subsidised by the government, remains unchanged at JD10 per cylinder.

Several motorists interviewed by The Jordan Times said they had expected prices to be lower. 

"Most reports in newspapers said prices would go down by 10 per cent at least and that's what we expected," said Mohammad Khrais, from Irbid, 80km north of Amman. 

However, Khrais, a retired public servant, said the percentage prices fell by was not "too bad". 

A 20-litre gallon of 90-octane went down by JD1.10, which is still OK, said Bassem Ratrout.

Noting that he was expecting a drop of at least JD1.5 per gallon, the Amman resident accused the government of imposing high taxes on fuel products. 

Ratrout’s remarks were echoed by Ahmad Khalil, a taxi driver in the capital.  

“If the government reduces taxes on oil derivatives, prices would be affordable,” Khalil said, urging authorities to take the increasing demand for fuel, particularly diesel and kerosene, during winter into consideration.

The government lifted subsidies on oil derivatives in November 2012, and a pricing committee meets monthly to adjust prices in a manner that corresponds to changes in oil prices on the international market.

The committee — comprising representatives of the ministries of energy and finance, and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company — calculates updates based on average international prices during the preceding 30 days as well as other costs such as freight and handling, and announces a new price list every month.