Fuel prices. (1) Adoption of a ministerial order announcing a significant increase in the prices of the three main fuel products in June; and (2) public announcements of (i) the cap on energy subsidies at 2.5 percent of GDP (2,700 million dinars) in 2018; (ii) a monthly price adjustment for the three main fuel products from July; and (iii) an additional one-off price correction in October if the energy subsidy budget were likely to be exceeded.
On (1): The government increased fuel prices by 75 millimes on June 22, 2018 (see press coverage below). On (2): The government announced that (i) the budget envelope for energy subsidies will be increased from TD 1,500 million to only TD 2,700 million in the upcoming supplementary budget; (ii) monthly price adjustments--previously announced in December 2016 for July 2017--will finally be implemented starting in July 2018; and (iii) the price adjustments will be revisited in October 2018 to ensure the energy subsidies do not exceed the new envelope of TD 2,700 million (see press coverage below).
