The government announced that the retail prices of petrol and diesel will remain unchanged.
According to the announcement made by the Ministry of Finance, the retail prices of RON95 and diesel will remain unchanged at RM2.05 and RM2.15 per liter, while RON97 will remain unchanged at RM3.08 per liter.
As of the evening of November 17, 2021, the price of Brent Oil was US$81.84 per barrel, while the price of Crude Oil was US$80.11 per barrel. The analysis predicts that international crude oil prices could spike to around $120 per barrel in 2022. If the crude oil price really soars to US$120 per barrel, then the retail price of RON97 gasoline is not ruled out to break the RM3.50 level.
Commodities have increased in price in recent months, palm oil, soybeans, natural gas, coal and so on have increased in price, commodity price increases have caused prices to soar in many foreign countries. Thankfully, however, domestic inflation is still at 2 to 3%.
If the government is unable to curb inflation, it may end up causing stagflation. Inflation is a rise in the price of goods, while stagflation will result in a shortage of goods and a climb in unemployment. An increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR) is also one of the government’s tools for dealing with inflation, and the National Bank is generally forecast to raise the OPR in the second quarter of 2022, when lending rates will follow suit.
