Misr Petroleum’s sales of 92-octane benzene has decreased since the government made further cuts to fuel subsidies in mid-June, an anonymous source at the company told Amwal Al Ghad.

The source said that demand for the company’s 92-octane has decreased by around 100,000 liters each day, representing a 5% daily decrease.

The Egyptian government raised the price of 92-octane from EGP 5 per liter to EGP 6.75, 95-octane from EGP 6.60 per liter to EGP 7.75, and 80-octane from EGP 3.65 to EGP 5.50, Egypt Oil & Gas previously reported.

Falling demand has accompanied previous price hikes, of which there have been three since 2016. “We noticed that gas consumption decreased 4% last year and 5% for diesel… This is compared to an average of 7% increase during previous years such as 2011,” oil minister Tarek El Molla commented on the price increase. He added that prices will further increase in 2019 to meet the country’s plan in reducing subsidies expenditure.

Regarding Misr Petroleum, the company is planning to establish more gas stations in order to achieve its fuel sales target of 10-15% in fiscal year 2019/20. The company currently sells 2.1 million liters of 92-octane a day.