Revision in the Price of Fuel
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Revision in the Price of Fuel |
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contact: Earl Bousquet Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony has announced an increase in the price of fuel. The announcement was made in a Statement to the House of Assembly this morning, in which the Prime Minister indicated the cost of gasoline and diesel have both been increased by 75 cents per gallon. Delivering the statement at today’s sitting of the House, the Prime Minister, who is also Minister of Finance, indicated that at its last meeting on Monday, June 7, the Cabinet of Ministers agreed that retail prices of Unleaded Gas and Diesel should be adjusted, in accordance with the recent movement in oil prices. The Finance Minister explained that the local price increases at the pump had been occasioned by the steady increases in the price of fuel on the international market. World Market prices, he indicated, have moved from US$19.41 per barrel in 2002 to a peak of US$42.33 per barrel on June 1, 2004, the highest in 21 years. Further, he said, international forecasts are that the prices on the world market will continue to be high through to the end of September. Dr. Anthony said one direct consequence of the increasing prices on the international market was that Consumption Tax revenues due to the Government of St. Lucia had declined significantly in the past couple years. He reported that in 2002, government lost $3.2 million and $8.2 million in 2004. In addition, the Finance Minister indicated that up to the end of March this year, government had lost another $4.1 million, causing a total loss of revenue of $15.5 million in just over two years. Dr Anthony recalled that the government has had a pricing mechanism in place since 1993 which has served to cushion the impact of the volatile international prices and which shielded the general public from the rising costs of fuel. But, he explained, this protective pricing mechanism could no longer be continued and the government has had no alternative but to increase the fuel prices. The Finance Minister noted that all other Caricom and OECS member-states -- except Trinidad & Tobago -- have had to either increase of announce intentions to increase the cost of fuel. He also recalled that the last time fuel prices were increased at the pump in St. Lucia was in 2002, when Unleaded Gasoline was raised by 70 cents and Diesel was increased by 50 cents. Under the new pricing mechanism, unleaded gas will be increased from $7.75 per gallon to $8.50 per gallon and diesel will increase from $7.00 per gallon to $7.75 per gallon. However, there will be no increases for the moment in the prices for cooking gas and kerosene. As a note of caution, the Prime Minister indicated in his Statement to the
House that the “Government intends to monitor local prices closely to ensure
that no undue advantage will be taken of the public with the new adjustments in
the price of fuel.” |
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