Kathmandu. The Australian government has announced that it will extend the excise duty cut on fuel by one more month.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Sunday that the excise duty will be reduced by 16 cents per litre from July 1 to August 2.

The current rebate of 32 cents per litre will be halved and the full excise duty rate will be restored to 52.6 cents per litre after August 2.

Australia’s federal government slashed excise duties of 26.3 cents per litre for three months starting April 1 to cushion the impact of the global oil crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict and soaring fuel prices. The state and regional governments had agreed to provide an additional five cents per liter of relief during this period.

In a joint statement with Finance Minister Jim Chalmers, Energy Secretary Chris Bowen and Transport Secretary Catherine King, Albanese said the “gradual rollback of fuel excise duty cuts” would provide relief to people facing pressures from the rising cost of living.

“The extension of the excise duty reduction period is as it will take time to restore stability in the economic and fuel market,” the statement reads. ”

They acknowledged that despite the recent drop in the price of petroleum products, people are still under economic pressure.