TASHKENT: Uzbekistan raised gasoline prices by about 40 percent and diesel by about 70 percent on Wednesday amid chronic shortages of fuel in the Central Asian nation.
The hike brings prices closer to those seen in neighbouring countries after the former Soviet republic devalued its sum currency by almost 50 percent in September.
The new prices were set by a government decree published by several Uzbek news websites.
The price of gasoline with an octane rating of 80 has risen to 3,800 sum per litre ($0.47), while with a octane rating 91 gasoline now costs 4,300 sum ($0.53 per litre). Diesel fuel is priced at 4,100-4,200 sum ($0.51-52) per litre.
The decree also removes price regulations for imported, premium-quality gasoline.
Uzbekistan operates three state-owned refineries running mostly on locally produced oil and also imports Russian gasoline.
It is building a refinery and plans to import oil from Russia, via Kazakhstan, to supply it with feedstock.
Long queues at gas stations are common in the country, and many Uzbek drivers have converted their cars to run on liquefied petroleum gas which is easier to obtain.
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