Iran postpones cutting petrol subsidies

TEHRAN: Iran has postponed increasing petrol prices for at least a month despite a plan to phase out subsidies that was due to start by late September, a senior official was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Motorists will continue to receive a monthly quota of 60 litres (13 gallons) of petrol at subsidised prices of about 10 US cents a litre until October 22, Mohammad Royanian, who heads Iran’s Fuel and Transport Management Organisation, was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency. The government will also continue to provide petrol at a “semi-subsidised” price of 40 cents a litre for a month to consumers exceeding their quotas, media reports said. The Iranian government is yet to unveil the details of its plan to scrap fuel subsidies amid speculation by the press about eventual prices. “The exact date of implementing the subsidy plan depends on the president and it is him who will make the announcement,” Royanian said. The government had planned to phase out subsidies from late September on energy, utilities and some basic food products which according to official estimates cost state coffers around $100 billion (77 billion euros) annually. Part of Iran’s ruling conservative camp has on numerous occasions expressed concern over the plan, saying it would further stoke inflation at a time when the economy is already reeling under high inflation and unemployment. The Iranian parliament had attempted to delay and limit the implementation of the measure by challenging the government’s sole authority to decide how to distribute among the poor the savings generated from scrapping the subsidies. The government has not given a clear indication to date on how much money it intends to distribute among the population. afp