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tate oil and gas firm PT Pertamina said Monday that it believes sales of its non-subsidized fuels will remain steady despite soaring prices.

Pertamina spokesperson Mochamad Harun said he was sure that the company’s loyal customers who regularly purchased non-subsidized fuel would not quickly switch to cheaper fuels sold by foreign retailers such as Shell, Petronas and Total.

“Sales will be normal. Our customers will continue to buy Pertamax [non-subsidized fuel] because they’re loyal customers. However, we know that there are “swingers” who have converted to subsidized fuel since the price hit Rp 8,000 [93 US cents] a liter,” he said.

Harun’s statement partially contradicted data on non-subsidized fuels sales released by downstream oil and gas regulator BPH Migas showing that in the first quarter, sales dropped by 37.65 percent year-on-year to 24.83 million liters from 39.83 million liters.

The decline was reflected in a trend over the past three months, with consumption falling to 9.13 million liters in January, 8 million liters in February and 7.7 million liters in March.

The price of Pertamax 92-octane gasoline was Rp 9,250 per liter in Greater Jakarta, up from Rp 9,050 as of May 15, while in East Java, the price soared from Rp 9,350 to Rp 9,550. For Pertamax Plus 95-octane gasline, the price was currently Rp 9,550 per liter in Greater Jakarta and Rp 9,750 in East Java, up from Rp 9,350 and Rp 9,600 respectively.

For PertaDex clean diesel fuel, the price declined to Rp 10,000 per liter from Rp 10,350 in Greater Jakarta and East Java.

Pertamina’s main competitor in the retail fuel business, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, has set its prices lower than the state company.

Starting May 16, the price of Shell Super 92-octane was Rp 9,050 per liter in Greater Jakarta, or Rp 200 cheaper than Pertamax. In East Java, the price was Rp 9,350, also Rp 200 below Pertamax.

For Shell’s Super Extra 95-octane, the price was Rp 9,500 per liter in Greater Jakarta and Rp 9,700 in East Java, both Rp 50 cheaper than Pertamina’s Pertamax Plus, while Shell Diesel was set at Rp 9,700 in Greater Jakarta and Rp 9,900 in East Java.

Despite more competitive prices, Shell declined to reveal its sales results for the first quarter.

“We can’t comment on sales data. It’s our policy,” company spokesperson Sri Wahyu Endah told The Jakarta Post via text message.

Two other foreign fuel retailers also sell fuel for cheaper prices than Pertamina. Malaysian retailer Petronas sells Primax 92 for Rp 9,050 per liter, Primax 95 for Rp 9,300 and Diesel for Rp 9,600 while France-based Total sells its Performance 92 for Rp 9,050 per liter, Performance 95 for Rp 9,500 and Performance Diesel for Rp 9,600.