The government on Saturday announced a sharp increase in retail fuel prices, raising diesel by 15 taka per litre and octane by 20 taka per litre, with the new rates taking effect from midnight.
The Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Division issued a notification confirming that diesel will now cost 115 taka per litre, up from 100 taka, while octane rises to 140 taka from 120 taka.
Petrol increased by 19 taka to 135 taka per litre and kerosene climbed to 130 taka per litre. The adjustment comes as the government seeks to align domestic prices with rising costs in the international fuel market.
The price hike follows a government decision earlier this month to keep fuel prices unchanged for April despite increasing import and production costs along with supply constraints.
According to a parliamentary statement by Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, global diesel prices surged by 98 percent and octane by 26 percent between February and late March.
The minister told parliament under Rule 300 that the government is providing significant subsidies to protect consumers. For the March-June quarter, total subsidy requirements are estimated at 15,409 crore taka for diesel and 636 crore taka for octane, totaling 16,045 crore taka. Additionally, LNG imports through Petrobangla will require 15,077 crore taka in subsidies during the April-June period.
The notification from the energy division instructed the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation chairman to implement the new prices from April 19.
