Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, tonight announced on behalf of the Government a cut of gasoline and diesel prices at the pump to be charged by the Guyana Oil Company Ltd (GUYOIL).
A release from the Ministry of Finance said that prices at the pump charged by GUYOIL will be lowered as follows: gasoline prices cut by 20 percent from $269 per litre to $215 per litre; and diesel prices reduced by 15 percent from $265 per litre to $225 per litre. These changes are expected to start taking effect as early as 2 October 2022.
The government move will put pressure on other fuel suppliers to cut their prices. Unremittingly high fuel tariffs sparked by the war in Ukraine among other factors have led to galloping inflation globally and dented the finances of the working class.
The ministry release said that in the first half of 2022, global oil prices surged more than 50 percent, rising from US$77 per barrel at the end December 2021 to US$120 in June of this year.
In order to mitigate the impact of rising global fuel prices on domestic consumers and the productive sectors to which fuel is a key input, the release said that the Government lowered the Excise Tax rate on both gasoline and diesel from 10 percent to 0 percent in March of this year.
