For the second time in just over a week, Government has reduced the price of gasoline and diesel.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Commerce, as from midnight tonight, Friday, October 17, the retail price of gasoline will be reduced from Bds $2.55 per litre to Bds $2.29 per litre; and diesel from Bds $2.48 to Bds $2.22 per litre. This amounts to a reduction of $0.26 per litre on both petroleum products.
The total reduction figure, taking into account the last decrease a week ago, now stands at $0.38 per litre and $0.35 per litre on gasoline and diesel, respectively; or a drop of $1.44 per gallon and $1.32 per gallon on gasoline and diesel, respectively. There will be no adjustment to the price of kerosene at this time.
The Ministry has pointed out that the Cabinet, at its meeting on June 5 this year, agreed to a mechanism to adjust prices in a more timely fashion, whereby prices would be adjusted monthly on the advice of the Division of Energy.
It said: “The implementation of this mechanism will see prices changing at the pump (i.e. up or down) in accordance with the imported prices of the products, and losses suffered by the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL) should be a thing of the past.”
In recent weeks, the Ministry said, “the price of crude oil and its derivatives, gasoline and diesel, has started to drop.
Today, the world market price of crude oil is US $73.79 and the latest CIF price on imports for the two products (gasoline and diesel) is $1.05 per litre for gasoline and $1.23 per litre for diesel compared to the current CIF of $1.30 per litre for gasoline and $1.47 per litre for diesel.
“In light of these cheaper prices and given the mandate of BNOCL to provide energy at the cheapest cost to consumers, Government has again taken the opportunity to reduce the retail price of these products, and at the same time enable BNOCL to recoup losses incurred, over time. This reduction in price, along with the subsidy granted earlier to the productive sectors, should see a further reduction in their operating costs,” the Ministry said.