The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday cut the retail price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 1.03 taka per kilogramme for September, bringing the price of a 12kg cylinder down by 13 taka to 1,585 taka.

The new price came into effect at 6pm.

The 12kg cylinder was priced at 1,598 taka in August, following a 70 taka increase from 1,528 taka in July. Despite this month’s reduction, consumers are still paying 57 taka more per cylinder than in July.

The price cut comes as households continue to face a shortage of piped natural gas, increasing reliance on LPG for cooking and adding to household expenses.

According to BERC, Saudi Aramco’s September contract prices for propane and butane, calculated at a 35:65 ratio, put the average Saudi Contract Price (CP) at $647.75 per metric tonne.

The commission set the revised LPG prices based on the Saudi CP, shipping costs, traders’ premiums and an average exchange rate of 123.30 taka per US dollar.

Under the new rates, a 5.5kg cylinder will cost 727 taka, while prices for 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 33kg, 35kg and 45kg cylinders have been fixed at 1,652 taka, 1,982 taka, 2,113 taka, 2,378 taka, 2,642 taka, 2,907 taka, 3,303 taka, 3,964 taka, 4,360 taka, 4,624 taka and 5,945 taka respectively.

The price of autogas used in vehicles has also been reduced to 73.09 taka per litre.

However, the price of the state-owned company’s 12.5kg LPG cylinder remains unchanged at 776.93 taka.

BERC has been setting LPG prices monthly since April 2021 based on international propane and butane prices, known as Saudi CP, and the US dollar exchange rate.

Consumers have long complained that LPG is often unavailable at the regulator-set prices.

Reiterating its pricing order, BERC said no entity at any stage of the supply chain – including storage, bottling, distribution and retail – may charge consumers more than the prices fixed by the commission.