Fuel Price Hike to be Announced Soon: VP

Jakarta (Antara) - The fuel price hike will soon be announced to dispel public doubts and to create a socially and economically conducive situation, stated Vice President Jusuf Kalla. "It would be announced as soon as possible to allay public doubts when President Joko Widodo returns from his overseas trip," Kalla informed the newsmen at his office here on Friday. The vice president noted that the government should re-compute the hike in fuel price since the global oil prices had dropped to US$80 per barrel, and the figure will be different when the oil prices in the world market are high. Kalla pointed out that the rupiah had also concurrently weakened, and so, the combined effects of the global oil prices and the weakening rupiah should be recalculated. "So, the percentage increase in fuel price needs to be re-examined with reference to the weakening oil prices and the rupiah," he added. With regard to the sharp increase in the prices of basic commodities, Vice President Jusuf Kalla explained that the increase could be attributed to various reasons and not entirely due to the hike in oil price. (*)