PETALING JAYA: Fuel prices are up across the board for the fourth week of April under the new weekly pricing mechanism.
The price of RON95 petrol has gone up by three sen to RM2.27 per litre compared to RM2.24 last week, while the price of RON97 petrol has gone up by two sen to RM2.54 compared to RM2.52 per litre last week.
The price of diesel has also increased, with a five sen increase to RM2.21 this week compared to RM2.16 per litre last week.
The new prices will come into effect on Thursday and will remain in effect until April 26.
The Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry posted the new weekly fuel prices on Twitter.
The higher fuel prices sent the rate of inflation for March soaring to its highest level in nearly nine years, with the consumer price index (CPI) rising 5.1%.
With the headline inflation rate the highest since November 2008 but lower than expectations, it was the transport sub-sector, which tracks the price of petrol at the pump, that contributed much to the rise in inflation after it rose 23% from a year ago as the recovering price of global crude oil pushed prices higher in Malaysia.
The Department of Statistics said that apart from transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.1%, recreation services and culture 3%, health 2.6%, restaurants and hotels 2.3%, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 2.1%.
“The average price of one litre of RON95 petrol was RM2.29 in March 2017 compared with RM1.60 in March 2016. As for RON97, the average price increased to RM2.59 in March 2017 compared with RM1.95 in March 2016,” said the Department of Statistics in a statement.
Fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment account for 7.8% of the CPI weights, it said.
