The retail price of diesel increased by about 3.28 per cent on June 21, while regular-grade petrol was held constant, according to a notice issued by the Ministry of Commerce.

For the June 21-30 period, the retail selling prices of fuel in the Kingdom have been set at 5,800 riel or $1.43 per litre of regular EA92 (petrol with an octane rating of at least 92) and 6,300 riel or $1.55 per litre of 50ppm diesel (with sulphur content no more than 50 parts per million), said the notice, which contains values in both currencies.

The corresponding rates for June 11-20 were 5,800 riel ($1.43) and 6,100 riel ($1.50) per litre of regular EA92 and diesel, respectively, up from 4,100 riel ($1.00) and 3,750 riel ($0.92) during the period ended December 31, 2021.

Fuel prices will continue to rise so long as the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains unresolved, which could have serious global consequence and put pronounced pressure on economic growth, observers have told The Post.

Compulsory for licensed filling stations – although usually not strictly enforced for street vendors, the rates are issued every first, 11th and 21st of the month, calculated using data extrapolated from fluctuations in crude prices on the international market, and a number of taxes and charges that may be adjusted based on feedback from meetings with local oil importers and other stakeholders.

The ministry notice shows that the current semi-monthly regular EA92 rate was computed by adding the $0.9408 average Means of Platts Singapore (MOPS) over June 13-20, $0.1716 in taxes and associated charges ($0.0847 in customs duty, $0.0200 in additional fees and $0.0669 in special fees) and $0.20 premium – summing up to about $1.312 – plus an extra 10 per cent surcharge on top of that and a one US cent discount from “the oil companies” for a total of $1.4337, which was then converted and adjusted to the final values.

Similarly, the diesel rate was formulated from a $1.1315 mean MOPS (over the same six working days), $0.0595 in taxes and associated charges ($0.0000 in customs duty, $0.0400 in additional fees and $0.0195 in special fees) and $0.23 premium – tallying up to around $1.421 – with a 10 per cent fuel surcharge and one US cent discount from the unnamed firms for a sum of $1.5531, which was then converted and rounded to the current values.

And as has been customary since May 21, the notice mentioned that the two current per-litre rates include a 6.5 US cent reduction greenlit by Prime Minister Hun Sen “to ease the people’s livelihoods”.