DAMASCUS, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Sunday temporarily raised fuel and cooking gas prices, citing rising global energy and shipping costs as well as reduced domestic refining capacity.
The country's Permanent Committee for Pricing Petroleum Products and Mineral Resources issued a new temporary price bulletin, raising the price of 95-octane gasoline from 152 new Syrian pounds (about 1.25 U.S. dollars) to 195 pounds (about 1.60 dollars) per liter, an increase of 28.3 percent.
The price of 90-octane gasoline rose from 147 pounds (about 1.21 dollars) to 185 pounds (about 1.52 dollars) per liter, up 25.9 percent, while diesel climbed from 125 pounds (about 1.03 dollars) to 175 pounds (about 1.44 dollars) per liter, marking the steepest increase of 40 percent.
Cooking gas prices also rose, though more moderately. The price of a household gas cylinder rose from 1,470 pounds (about 12.05 dollars) to 1,600 pounds (about 13.12 dollars), an increase of 8.8 percent.
The Energy Ministry said the increases were temporary and reflected an exceptional rise in the cost of procuring petroleum products from international markets, alongside the major overhaul of the Banias refinery, a key supplier of fuel to the domestic market.
The latest increases came just over a week after another adjustment took effect on Sept. 4, when gasoline and diesel prices were each raised by five pounds per liter, while household and industrial gas prices remained unchanged. ■
