Egypt raises fuel prices by up to LE 2 in third increase of 2024

CAIRO – 18 October 2024: Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum announced an increase in diesel and gasoline prices by up to LE 2 for the third and final time in 2024, effective from Friday.

The adjustments, issued by the Fuel Automatic Pricing Committee (FAPC), will see 95-octane gasoline rise to LE 17 from LE 15, 92-octane gasoline rise to LE 15.25 from LE 13.75, 80-octane gasoline rise to LE 13.75 from LE 12.25, and diesel prices rise to LE 13.50 from LE 11.50.

This decision is part of an initiative to “ensure the availability of petroleum products, regulate market performance according to established pricing mechanisms, and reduce the gap between selling prices of petroleum products and their high production and import costs,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry highlighted that these actions aim to bridge the pricing gap and adjust the costs of specified petroleum products, with the committee scheduling its next session for six months from now instead of typically meeting each quarter.

This marks the third fuel price increase this year, following adjustments in March and July.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly previously stated that the state plans to gradually raise petroleum product prices to phase out fuel subsidies by the end of 2025, thus easing the burden on the state budget.

The recent fuel price hikes coincide with the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approval in March of an augmentation of the original loan program for Egypt by around $5 billion.

After the decision, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva emphasized the importance for Egypt to replace untargeted fuel subsidies with targeted social spending as part of a sustained fuel price adjustment package.