PUBLISHED ONOctober 15, 2026 2:00 AMBYSean LerMotorists in Malaysia will get some reprieve from rising pump prices after Malaysia dropped its unsubsidised fuel rates for the week of Oct 15 to 21, a week after increasing retail prices for unsubsidised Ron95 and Ron97 by 15 sen per litre each.
In its weekly fuel price announcement on Wednesday (Oct 14) evening, the finance ministry said that prices for unsubsidised Ron95 and Ron97 will drop by 5 sen per litre each, while rates for unsubsidised diesel will fall by 10 sen per litre.
Explaining its decision, it pointed out that the supply of refined petroleum products in the regional market improved after China again allowed fuel exports for October, while South Korea continues to supply such products to the regional market.
"This development has helped ease pressure on supply," the ministry noted.
However, it also cautioned that the escalating conflict in the Middle East, including recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, has increased the risk of supply disruptions amid already high petroleum prices.
"Price volatility is expected to continue in the medium term," it cautioned.
Malaysia uses the APM formula — introduced in 1983 to stabilise fuel prices in line with market fluctuations — when determining weekly petrol prices.
Following the latest round of reduction, the prices of unsubsidised Ron97, Ron95 and diesel now stand at RM5.10 (S$1.60), RM4.62 and RM5.17 per litre respectively.
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after an attack on Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco, with Brent crude futures rising to US$105.83 (S$135) a barrel at 5.38pm (Singapore time).
"Attacks on ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz and military strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis are supporting prices as market participants remain concerned about lower oil exports from the region," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that exports have held up so far.
Meanwhile, a Singapore-registered container ship sank in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz on Oct 13, while another container ship was damaged on Oct 14.
"The expectation that increased Russian diesel exports will ease market tightness is likely to limit sharp price movement in either direction," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment.
The IEA also said that a lack of operational Russian refinery capacity meant that the recently announced easing of Russian diesel export restrictions was unlikely to bring any material change to the global gasoil market balance.
Constrained diesel supplies could persist well into next year, the IEA also said.
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