(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Jordanian Cabinet announced increasing prices of petroleum products and electricity fees in a number of sectors starting from Saturday night.
The decision did not specify percentage of price hike of other oil derivatives, excluding Gasoline Super 95 price which was increased by more than 25 percent, and the liter is costing now USD 1.4 compared to only one USD before.
Price of the 90 octane gasoline would remain unchanged.
The government also decided to increase the electricity fees on a number of commercial, industrial and tourism sectors, covering banks, hotels, communication, water pumping, street lighting companies, hotels besides others. Domestic usage of electricity was excluded.
The government took this step to fill budget deficit which some senior officials believe it would reach alarming levels by 2012, exceeding USD 2.8 billion, 9.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which would push the net public debt to USD 24.7 billion.
Local officials estimated cost of electric power, in 2011, at USD 2.6 billion. Egypt's gas cut-off caused a loss of USD 1.4 billion for the electricity sector.
Jordan imports around 97 percent of its need for energy, cost of which reached USD five billion in 2011.
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