Officials monitor development after GCC states hiked charges

KUWAIT: Kuwait has no plans to follow in other GCC states' footsteps and hike fuel prices again, a government official said. A governmental subsidies committee has not discussed increasing fuel prices as it continues to monitor oil market developments and discuss the best ways to deal with changes, said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Further, the official said that the Cabinet reviewed the decisions made in four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to increase fuel prices, but did not take similar steps.

"The Cabinet only requested conducting needed studies to assess the local situation to make the right decision," he said, pointing out that reports were made by relevant oil officials about the reasons behind the price hikes in UAE, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia, which came after implementing value added tax (VAT) in UAE and Saudi Arabia, noting that the increase was the second in the UAE and Oman, and the fourth in Qatar since four Arab states boycotted it seven months back.

Notably, fuel prices have gone up by 127 percent in Saudi Arabia and 3.9-4.2 percent in the UAE following a 20 percent increase in 2017. Oman increased fuel prices by 2-7 percent and Qatar increased it by 2.8-3 percent. The last time Kuwait raised fuel prices was in September 2016.

By A Saleh