Bahrain has approved raising domestic gasoline prices, the Cabinet said in a statement carried by state news agency BNA on Monday, part of the government’s efforts to boost revenues hit by slumping oil prices.
BNA said that the cabinet, at its weekly meeting, set the new price for super fuel at 160 Bahraini fils ($0.424) per litre from 100 fils, while the price for regular fuel would be raised to 125 fils per litre from 90 fils. The new prices will take effect on Tuesday.
Like other GCC oil-exporting states, Bahrain has for many years subsidised goods and services such as food, fuel, electricity and water, keeping prices ultra-low in an effort to maintain social order.
But since its oil income began to fall last year, the government’s budget deficit has widened and the subsidies have become much harder for Bahrain to afford.
