Thailand's three local oil retailers, Esso, Bangchak Petroleum, and Caltex, have raised the retail prices of their benzene and diesel fuels by 0.50 baht a liter starting from Thursday morning as a result of the rising world's oil prices.

Other local oil firms are expected to follow in a short time, except for PTT Plc, said Energy Policy and Planning Office.

The higher retail petrol prices for premium and regular petrol are at 29.24 baht and 28.44 baht per liter respectively, and that for diesel stands at 26.59 baht per liter.

Meanwhile, the Energy Ministry said excise taxes could be cut if oil prices continue to climb up in the global market.

Caretaker Energy Minister Viset Choopiban said he would hold talks with relevant agencies about measures to ease the pressure on the public and the economy due to the soaring fuel prices.

Measures to encourage conservation and development of alternative fuel would be critical to reduce the country's oil imports, he was quoted by Bangkok Post as saying.

As further cuts in levies assessed on fuel by the State Oil Fund are impractical, one possibility would be to slash excise taxes collected on diesel, now set at 2.305 baht per liter.

Recently, levies collected by the oil fund were cut by one baht per liter for diesel.

Viset said the Energy Ministry would also ask local oil refiners to cooperate in cutting refining margins to match crude oil fluctuations.

Oil retailers and refiners have reportedly agreed to a plan to offer diesel fuel at a price one baht per liter cheaper than pump prices for transport operators.

The plan, which will run for three months starting May 15, is expected to cover 900 million liters total, with costs shared equally by retailers and refineries. Some 220,000 trucks are expected to be covered under the program.

Source: Xinhua