Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday cut the retail price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Tk 1.03 per kilogramme for September, bringing the price of the widely used 12kg cylinder down by Tk 13 to Tk 1,585.

The new price came into effect at 6pm on Wednesday.

The 12kg LPG cylinder was priced at Tk 1,598 in August, after rising sharply by Tk 70 from Tk 1,528 in July.

Despite this month’s reduction, consumers are still paying Tk 57 more per cylinder than they did in July.

The price adjustment comes amid a continuing shortage of piped natural gas, which has increased household dependence on LPG for cooking and put additional pressure on household budgets.According to BERC, Saudi Aramco’s September contract prices for propane and butane, based on a 35:65 ratio, put the average Saudi CP (contract price) at $647.75 per metric tonne.

The commission calculated the new LPG prices taking into account the Saudi CP, shipping costs, traders’ premiums and an average exchange rate of Tk 123.30 per US dollar.

Under the revised pricing, the price of a 5.5kg cylinder has been set at Tk 727, while 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 33kg, 35kg and 45kg cylinders will cost Tk 1,652, Tk 1,982, Tk 2,113, Tk 2,378, Tk 2,642, Tk 2,907, Tk 3,303, Tk 3,964, Tk 4,360, Tk 4,624 and Tk 5,945 respectively.

The price of autogas used in vehicles has also been reduced to Tk 73.09 per litre.

However, the price of the state-owned company’s 12.5kg LPG cylinder remains unchanged at Tk 776.93.

BERC has been fixing LPG prices every month since April 2021 based on international prices of propane and butane, known as Saudi CP, and the US dollar exchange rate.

Consumers, however, have long complained that LPG is often unavailable at the prices fixed by the regulator.

Reiterating its pricing order, BERC said no level of the supply chain, including storage, bottling, distribution or retail, could charge consumers more than the prices fixed by the commission.