BERC curtails LPG price for July

The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for July Bangladesh has been curtailed sharply, cutting the retail price of a 12kg cylinder by Tk 357.

The new price was fixed at Tk 1,528, while the revised rates take effect from 6pm on Thursday.
On Thursday, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Chairman Jalal Ahmed announced the new prices.

He said the retail price of private-sector LPG for July has been fixed at Tk 127.30 per kg, including value added tax (VAT).

Auto gas prices have also been brought down, falling from Tk 86.93 to Tk 70.40 per litre.
The previous price for a 12kg cylinder in June was Tk 1,885.

The BERC said the July rate was calculated based on Saudi Aramco’s contract prices (CP) for propane and butane, using a 35:65 ratio and an average Saudi CP of $593 per tonne.

Prices of LPG supplied by the state-run company remain unchanged. The 12.5kg cylinder stays at Tk 776.93 at the consumer level.

The BERC last revised LPG prices on Jun 2, when it cut the 12kg cylinder price by Tk 55 to Tk 1,885.
Before that, the regulator raised prices twice in April — by Tk 387 on Apr 2 and by Tk 212 on Apr 19 — pushing the 12kg cylinder as high as Tk 1,940.

April’s two hikes added Tk 599 to the price, while the June and July cuts together have brought it down by Tk 412.

The BERC warned that no one at any stage of the supply chain, including storage, bottling, distribution or retail, may sell LPG above the commission’s set price.

Consumers, however, have long complained that market prices regularly exceed the official rates.