Minister Hopes Commodity Price will Go Down

Jakarta (Antara) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofjan Djalil has expressed hope that commodity prices will go down as the government lowers the prices of premium gasoline and diesel oil. "The government's steps should become a lead factor; if it lowers fuel cost, the prices of commodities should also decline. If they will not lead to a fall in prices, it means the market structure is not healthy, the minister observed. He said the government has played a decisive role in the prices of commodities such as rice. The government will rely on state-owned logistics board Bulog to act as a price stabilizer. We hope the prices of other commodities will also drop following the fuel price decline. "We will empower Bulog, especially from the stock aspect. When prices rise, Bulog will interfere as a price stabilizer," he noted. He added that ideally, a fall in fuel prices must be followed by a decline in commodity prices. If prices remain high, there is a possibility of speculative buyers designing prices. President Joko Widodo announced the new price of gasoline and diesel oil on Friday afternoon; down from Rp7,600 per liter to Rp6,600 and from Rp7,250 to Rp6,400 per liter, respectively. (*)