Azerbaijan, Baku, July 18/Trend M. Moezzi/
Petrol sales in Iran have doubled after the government's sudden decision not to increase prices as was scheduled under its subsidies elimination plan.
Data from the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) shows that so far this year (Iran's solar year began on March 20) about 63 million litres of petrol are being sold daily, over three million litres more than what was being sold last year, Mehr news agency reports.
In December 2011, the Iranian government began a programme to remove subsidies for energy carriers and some commodities. That meant higher petrol prices for Iranians were phased in as heavy subsidies were eliminated. Although the next phase of price reforms was scheduled to start, the government has suddenly decided to hold back.
So far this year, up to 60 per cent of the 63 million litres of petrol sold daily in Iran is at the half-subsidised price of 4000 to 5000 rials a litre and the rest is sold at the unsubsidised price of 7000 to 8000 rials a litre. The official exchange rate in Iran is 12,260 rials to the dollar.
Diesel sales are up too, with daily sales of more than 100 million litres and that even reached 135 million litres in one day.
The higher petrol sales coincide with the high travel season in the summer and the holy month of Ramadan which will start on Saturday.