Japan will roll out subsidies for fuel products from Thursday to cap gasoline prices ¡ª which have risen to all-time highs following the escalating war in Iran ¡ª at around ?170 ($1.10) per liter.
The national average retail price of gasoline rose to a record ?190.8 per liter on Monday, up by ?29 per liter from a week earlier, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy reported on Wednesday. The average price per liter for diesel and kerosene also rose to ?178.4 and ?154.1, respectively ¡ª both all-time highs as well.
Officials expect it will take one to two weeks for the effects to filter through to retail prices, as existing inventories are gradually replaced with subsidized supply. A longer lag is expected in mountainous and rural areas ¡ª where gas stations are located far from refineries, and have lower sales volumes and slower inventory turnover.
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