August 9 (SeeNews) - Serbia will increase natural gas prices for households this winter by a maximum of 10%, the head of state-owned natural gas importer and distributor Srbijagas, Dusan Bajatovic, said on Wednesday.
The increase will depend on the price on the international exchange at Srbijagas can buy gas and how much money the company will need to service its five- and seven-year loans, Bajatovic said in an interview with public television RTS.
“That price increase will certainly not be higher than 10%. We will calculate it next month. It should take effect from November 1," Bajatovic added.
In June, Bajatovic said that there will be no significant increase in gas price for households this winter, if any at all.
The natural gas price for households currently stands at 4.13 dinars ($0.038/0.035 euro) per KWh, following an increase by 10% in May, according to data from the Energy Agency of Serbia (AERS). Previously, the price of natural gas prices increased by 11% in January.
Serbia's annual consumer price inflation slowed down to 13.7% in June, from 14.8% in May, the national statistical office said last month.
(1 euro = 117.191 dinars)