Oil Fuel Fund’s losses decline by more than half in six months, director says

Wisak said that on December 25 of last year the fund was 123.155 billion baht in the red, but as of June 25 its losses had fallen to 57.884 billion baht.

He said that the losses from subsidies last year comprised 44.113 for LPG subsidies and 79.042 billion for oil subsidies. They fell to 45.975 billion baht for LPG subsidies and 11.909 billion baht for oil subsidies in June, he added.

Wisak said the fund’s losses surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up the global price of oil, explaining that the fund had to increase subsidies for diesel to keep it below 35 baht per litre.

The fund’s losses peaked at 130 billion baht at the end of November last year, he added.

After global prices began declining, the fund’s losses fell, but it continues to subsidise diesel prices to keep the retail price at 32 baht per litre, Wisak said.

Wattanapong Kurovat, director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, said on Sunday that in the first half of this year, the price of crude oil in the Dubai market averaged US$77.45 per barrel while petrol and diesel prices averaged $93.64 and $94.17 per barrel, respectively.

The price of oil is forecast to rise in the second half of this year.

Wattanapong said crude oil prices are expected to rise to $81-87 per barrel, while petrol will rise to $96-105 per barrel and diesel to $91-98 US in the second half.

His office is in the process of restructuring oil prices to better respond to market prices and to ensure quality standards comply with the Euro 5 standard, which caps emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides.