Oil rout forces Kuwait to hike petrol prices 80 per cent
Kuwait will hike its petrol prices by more than 80 per cent from 1 September, as part of the Opec member's adjustment to lower for longer oil prices.
Its cabinet said yesterday that the price for the highest grade petrol would rise to 165 fils a litre, from 90 currently, according to a report by state news agency KUNA.
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It comes as the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman — have been forced to speed up economic reforms as a result of oil tumbling from the middle of 2014.
Credit ratings agency Moody's recently said the crude rout had battered Kuwait's finances. It fell to a deficit of 1.1 per cent of gross domestic product in the 12 months to 31 March, down from a surplus 30 per cent a year earlier.
While the damage was cushioned by the gulf state's "significant financial buffers, the oil price shock appears to have lent urgency to the government's reform efforts," it added.