Prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene in Tonga will decrease for September to October 

New retail prices including consumption tax starting from Wednesday, 16 September:

Petrol 237.29 seniti per litre, 15.5 seniti decrease

Diesel 225.53 seniti per litre, 11.42 seniti decease

Kerosene 154.78 seniti per litre, 12.89 seniti decease

The Competent Authority stated today the prices were mainly determined by the movement of FOB prices in the Singapore market based on August 2015 average prices of the daily published Means of Platt’s Singapore (MOPS) benchmark prices.

Comparing August’s average prices with July, crude oil (Dated Brent) is down by USD9.89/bbl (17.5%). Product prices fell with crude except petrol prices, which fell more than crude.

Petrol refining margins had been at record highs with the high summer demand while kerosene and diesel prices fell with crude as firm regional demand and export opportunities are supporting refining margins.

Meanwhile, the Tongan pa’anga has continued to depreciate, falling to a monthly average of USD45.16 cents. The reduced exchange rate and higher freight had partially offset some of the decrease in international prices for local consumers.

If the upward price trend continues for the rest of this month along with the weaker pa’anga local prices may increase as product prices are expected to follow crude.

On the outlook, crude prices bounced back during the last week of August and early September by more than USD6/bbl after revised production data issued by the US Energy Information Agency which showed that production from some US shale regions have been falling faster than previously thought.