Thailand keeps LPG at 423 baht as oil fund deficit widens
Thailand keeps household LPG at 423 baht per 15kg cylinder until October 31 as higher subsidies push the Oil Fuel Fund deficit past 71.8 billion baht
Thailand will keep the retail price of household liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at 423 baht per 15-kilogramme cylinder until October 31, increasing subsidies as global energy-market volatility adds pressure to the Oil Fuel Fund.
The Energy Ministry has raised the LPG subsidy from 7.2209 baht to 9.8642 baht per kilogramme through the fund, preventing the domestic retail price from rising in line with global prices. The ministry said the measure was intended to limit pressure on household expenses and avoid wider effects on food, goods and services.
The additional support has added to the fund’s financial burden. As of Friday (August 7), its balance stood at minus 71.826 billion baht, around 2.044 billion baht deeper in deficit than a week earlier.
Hormuz uncertainty keeps energy markets volatile
Veerapat Kiatfuengfoo, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Energy and the ministry’s spokesperson, said global energy prices had remained highly volatile over the previous week as conflicting signals from the United States and Iran created uncertainty over whether the Strait of Hormuz would remain open.
The ministry was closely following developments while continuing measures aimed at maintaining domestic energy security and managing fuel prices, he said.
Alongside support from the Oil Fuel Fund, authorities are monitoring ex-refinery prices to ensure they remain appropriate and fair, with the aim of limiting the impact of energy-market volatility on household living costs.
Higher subsidy adds pressure to Oil Fuel Fund
The decision to increase LPG support means the fund is absorbing a larger share of the difference between domestic and global prices.
Despite the worsening balance, the ministry said it would continue using the fund to manage fuel prices and support household cooking-gas costs while monitoring its growing financial burden.
Veerapat said the ministry had responded to the latest global price volatility by tightening its management of fuel prices and ex-refinery prices while maintaining LPG support, even as accumulated obligations on the fund continued to rise.
