Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country is in the midst of a financial crisis, has ordered the government to cut gasoline prices from Thursday and demanded no more price rises are made without his permission, Belarusian Belta news agency reported on Wednesday.
"Let's agree that gasoline will cost not 5,200 and not 5,100, but 4,500 (Belarusian) rubles from tomorrow morning," Lukashenko told the government.
On Tuesday, retail gasoline prices in Belarus, an ex-Soviet state with all key sectors of the economy in state hands, spiked by some 30 percent and almost doubled compared with March levels.
The increase followed a 36 percent devaluation of the national currency on May 24, a price freeze on some staple foods and the introduction of fuel rationing, measures taken by the authorities to keep the lid on a deepening financial crisis which is eating away at ordinary Belarusians' dwindling incomes.
"And until January 1, when we have the rate of either 5,000 rubles or 4,500 rubles - if 4,500 Belarus rubles cost a dollar, the gasoline price will remain as such. If it is 5,000 rubles, it means you will be working on pricing until January by adding 2-3 percent, not 30 percent," Lukashenko said.
He did not rule out that the government would have to cut prices on other goods.
Lukashenko also prohibited price rises of over 5 percent without his consent: "I am categorically forbidding changing prices by over 3-5 percent without me knowing about it," he said.
The Belarusian ruble experienced pressure in the first five months of the year from a large trade deficit, generous wage increases and loans granted by the government ahead of the December 2010 presidential elections, which spurred strong demand for foreign currency.
The government has applied for loans from Russia and EurAsEC, a post-Soviet economic bloc led by Russia, to stabilize the economy. Russia said it would support loan disbursement to Belarus via EurAsEC, which approved a $3 billion bailout on Saturday.
The Belarusian authorities also said the country intended to raise up to $8 billion from the International Monetary Fund to stabilize its finances.
MINSK, June 8 (RIA Novosti)
