Egypt to lift natural gas prices for homes, businesses

Egypt plans to double the price of natural gas piped into some homes and businesses from next month, but the move will barely help its huge fuel bill because few sites are connected to the gas network. Energy prices in Egypt are among the lowest in the world, and the government spends more than a fifth of its budget on keeping them down. Although successive governments have called for reform, none have dared push through big price rises for fear of public unrest. According to a government statement on Sunday, residential and commercial users of less than 25 cubic metres of gas per month will pay 0.40 Egyptian pounds ($0.06) per cubic metre from May. The Oil Ministry's website shows the current price of gas for households at 0.20 Egyptian pounds ($0.03) per cubic metre, or about $0.80 per million British thermal units.