Saudi Arabia announced increasing local gasoline prices on the January 1st, 2018, in order to reach a more efficient energy use, Reuters reported.
The initiative comes along with an ambitious reform plan, which aims at increasing revenue sources and free the kingdom from depending on oil exports, CNBC informed.
According to the announcement, 91-octane benzene will reach SAR 1.37 per liter, increasing from SAR 0.75 per liter. Meanwhile, 95-octane benzene prize will be SAR 2.04 per liter, compared to SAR 0.90 per liter. Diesel prices for trucks were not changed.
Saudi Arabia is set to slow plans that aim to lift subsidies for a huge number of energy products, according to a fiscal plan in the kingdom’s 2018 state budget, which was released in December 2017.
Saudi King Salman announced on December 20th, 2017, that the due date for decreasing government’s budget deficit would be on 2023, pushed back from its original target date of 2020, in order to decrease the pressure on economic growth.
