Oil price hike in Saudi Arabia may rise up to 80% by November 2017

Saudi Arabia is considering a plan to phase out subsidies for gasoline and jet fuel in November at the latest, Bloomberg reported. The world's biggest oil exporter pushes to reduced spending after a global fall in prices.

At the current levels, this could result in a hike of about 80 percent for octane-91 grade gasoline to about 1.35 riyals per liter(0.36 cents), adding the report from Bloomberg. Authorities are expected to make a final decision on the plan in September or October. The Saudi finance, economy and energy ministries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

This reform for energy-subsidy is a key part of Saudi Arabia's plan to overhaul the economy, along with the sale of stakes in state-owned entities, including the Saudi Aramco, the biggest exporter of crude.

The kingdom raised fuel prices in December 2015 and announced plans for further increases. Authorities have also announced plans for a cash transfer program that would start before further subsidy cuts to help Saudis cope with the impact as the economy struggles with the worst slowdown since the global financial crisis.

Source:Bloomberg