"ICP fell for the second month in a row. ICP stood at US$49.56 per barrel in April, fell to US$47.09 per barrel in May, and further went down to US$43.66 per barrel in June," Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said.
The drop in ICP was fueled by declining global crude prices. In June 2017, Brent fell to US$47.55 per barrel from US$51.39 per barrel in the previous month, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped to US$45.20 per barrel from US$48.54 per barrel a month earlier.
Jonan made it clear ICP averaged US$48.84 per barrel in the first half of 2017.
In response to the average ICP of less than US$50 per barrel, the minister said some time ago nationally, it has a good impact on the economy as it will lower import value and has the potential to cut the cost of electrical power supply. On the other hand, it also has the potential to discourage new investment in oil exploration in the upstream oil and gas sector.
President Joko Widodo said recently the prices of subsidized premium gasoline and diesel oil will remain unchanged as of July 1.
The minister also assured that the prices of fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas in 3-kilogram cylinders will not be raised during the period of July 1 to September 30, 2017.
The global crude prices fell after the US Energy Information Administration announced US gasoline and distillate fuel oil stocks in June 2017 rose by 4 million barrel to 241 million barrels and by 5.3 million barrels to 152.3 million barrels respectively compared to the previous month.
Editor: Ade P Marboen
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
