Malaysia’s retail prices for unsubsidised RON95, RON97 and diesel fuel will rise by 5 sen per litre starting August 27 until September 2, 2026, the government announced [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The new prices will be RM3.82 per litre for RON95, RM4.30 for RON97, and RM4.72 for diesel [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Subsidised fuel prices remain steady, with RON95 (BUDI95) at RM1.99 per litre and diesel (BUDI Diesel) at RM2.10 per litre [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The government provides substantial subsidies, amounting to RM1.83 per litre for BUDI95 RON95—about 48% of the unsubsidised RON95 price—and RM2.62 per litre for BUDI Diesel, approximately 56% of the unsubsidised diesel price [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The price hike follows sustained geopolitical tensions in the Middle East disrupting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane. These issues, combined with refinery capacity problems in West Asia and Russia, have tightened global petroleum supplies and kept Brent crude prices above US$90 per barrel during the Automatic Pricing Mechanism period [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
About 290 million barrels of emergency oil reserves released by International Energy Agency countries out of a planned 400 million barrels have entered the market as of July 2026. The release was intended to ease supply amid 179 days of conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Finance Ministry said, "As long as petroleum flows through the Strait of Hormuz have not returned to normal and geopolitical uncertainty continues, the prices of petroleum products are expected to continue experiencing significant fluctuations in the near term" [2]. Officials also cautioned that "the depletion of this supply buffer increases the risk of price pressures should disruptions continue" [3].
The new unsubsidised fuel prices will be in effect from August 27 through September 2, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
