Jordan increases fuel, electricity prices

AMMAN, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Thursday announced to increase the prices of electricity and oil derivatives as of June 1 due to growing prices of crude oil globally.

The government increased electricity prices by 23.5 percent since June 1 for all sectors, excluding households that consume electricity of 300 kilowatt-hours or less per month, Farouq Hiyari, chief commissioner of the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, said in a statement.

The government also decided to increase prices of various types of fuels from June 1 to the end of the month, according to a statement by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The price of unleaded gasoline 90 octane increased by 5.5 percent from 0.82 dinars (1.15 U.S. dollars) per liter to 0.86 dinars per liter, while the price of unleaded gasoline 95 octane rose by 4.7 percent from 1.05 dinars per liter to 1.1 dinars per liter.

Diesel and kerosene prices increased by 4.8 percent from 0.62 dinars per liter to 0.65 dinars per liter, the statement said.

"The increase in fuel prices is due to the large rise in prices of crude oil as its average price per barrel reached 76.95 dollars in May, up by 7.4 percent compared to April," the statement added. Enditem