Pertamina spokeswoman Fajriyah Usman said the company’s stance was to monitor developments because the decision to lower retail prices of fuel was contingent on the outcome of changing government regulations.

“If the regulations or policies change, Pertamina will adjust accordingly,” she told reporters in Jakarta on Monday. She noted that the state-owned company already lowered fuel prices earlier this year as an adjustment to the new price ceiling for gasoline and diesel.

The ceiling, implemented through Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Decree No. 187/2019, compelled Pertamina to lower prices by up to 12.1 percent in Jakarta. Rival distributors Shell and Total reduced prices 15.71 percent and 15.8 percent respectively for certain fuels.

Otherwise, Pertamina revised its non-subsidized fuel prices on a monthly basis by taking into consideration market conditions, international crude oil prices and the rupiah-to-US-dollar exchange rate, said Fajriyah.

Variables have been tumbling this year. International crude oil benchmark Brent crashed 58.3 percent this year to US$27.67 per barrel on Tuesday, Bloomberg data shows. Meanwhile, the Indonesian rupiah hit a level unseen since the 1998 financial crisis at over Rp 16,000 to the US dollar on the same day.

Responding to falling crude oil prices, local media outlets raised questions over when or if domestic fuel prices would follow suit. Economist Chatib Basri told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that, unlike in previous years, Pertamina was not likely to receive pressure to lower prices as the public found the current prices acceptable.

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