KUWAIT CITY: With only two days left before the implementation of the new fuel prices an increase ranging from 42 to 60 percent, official sources said the middle income families will suffer the brunt of the price hike considering the estimated monthly expenses for fuel will be between KD 17 to KD 20, reports Al-Qabas daily.
Sources also denied the allegation that the government will compensate citizens by granting cash or coupons. Sources disclosed the prices will be revised every three months according to the international oil prices. Sources confirmed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been instructed to closely monitor the prices of other commodities in order to prevent unjustified price hikes. Sources said a comprehensive survey on the prices of services and commodities has been carried out to compare them with the prices after the implementation of the new fuel prices. Sources added Kuwait Petroleum Corporation will lay down a mechanism which takes into consideration the regional and international prices of oil and this will be approved within one month.
The Cabinet’s decision to increase the prices of fuel by the beginning of September has caused anxiety among expatriates who have emphasized the fact that the problem is not the price hike per se but its repercussions, reports Al-Anba daily. In an interview with the daily, several expatriates expect the fuel (benzene) price hike to result in higher prices of other commodities and service.
