Motorists rush to fill up tanks ahead of diesel price hike
Motorists in Bangkok and other provinces flocked to petrol stations to fill up their fuel tanks on Saturday ahead of an increase in the price of diesel.
The price of diesel was hiked by 2 baht per litre on Sunday following a sharp rise in the global price of fuel, driven by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
On Saturday night, the PTT station at Soi Phetkasem 81 in Bangkok's Nong Khaem district was crowded with motorists waiting to refuel their vehicles.
Coastal fishermen, meanwhile, arrived at the same filling station to fill up the tanks on their trucks so they could later refuel their fishing boats, local media added.
The government on Saturday scrapped its policy of capping the price of diesel at 30 baht per litre. Sunday’s 2-baht rise was approved by the Fuel Fund Executive Committee on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the new price cap for diesel has been set at 35 baht per litre.
The committee will raise the price gradually by one baht each time over the coming months until it reaches the new ceiling.
The Energy Ministry said the Oil Fuel Fund spent about 50 billion baht to keep the price of diesel capped at 30 baht per litre. The government decided in April to scrap that ceiling to reduce pressure on the Oil Fuel Fund.
