Rising gas price hurting low-income earners

The retail price of petrol in Cambodia rose again on Tuesday, upsetting many who work in low-paying jobs, like tuk-tuk drivers and food vendors. For 10 days through June 1, the price of petrol will be 4,300 ($1.058 at Tuesday’s exchange rate) a litre, up 200 riel from the preceding period, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday. The ministry recalculates the retail fuel price cap every 10 days, based mostly on the trading price of crude oil in Singapore. Seang Thai, a spokesman at the Commerce Ministry, had previously explained that the formula devised for pricing petrol relied heavily on international oil prices, especially the rate it is traded in Singapore. The price of international crude oil as of Tuesday was between $72 and $79 per barrel, according to data from Bloomberg. Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of French oil giant Total, said last week that the price could rise to $100 per barrel in the coming months. Ngeth Chou, senior consultant at Emerging Markets Consulting (EMC), said the increase in the price of oil should be of great concern to Cambodia due to the major impact it could have on economic growth. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)