SARAJEVO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Wednesday approved a 12 percent increase in the wholesale price of natural gas, effective Oct. 1, raising it to 1,109.01 convertible marks (about 637 U.S. dollars) per 1,000 standard cubic meters, excluding value-added tax.
The new price was approved on the proposal of the Ministry of Commerce, according to a government statement. The previous price was 990.19 convertible marks (about 569 dollars) per 1,000 standard cubic meters.
Energoinvest, the natural gas importer and wholesale supplier in BiH, said the increase was prompted by a 16.21 percent rise in the procurement price charged by Russian supplier Gazprom Export, citing fluctuations in global oil and gas markets.
Energoinvest said its analysis led it to propose a 12 percent increase, rather than passing on the full rise in procurement costs to end users, while maintaining a stable gas supply.
This is the fourth wholesale natural gas price hike in BiH this year. According to local media outlet Avaz, the cumulative increase in natural gas prices in Sarajevo has reached about 31 percent since the beginning of the year.
