CAIRO  - Egypt raised domestic fuel prices on Friday for the first time since completing subsidy reforms in 2019, via a quarterly pricing mechanism that links energy prices to international markets, the petroleum ministry said.

Prices were last raised in July 2019 when Egypt, a net oil importer, finished phasing out subsides on fuel products as part of a reform programme backed by the International Monetary Fund. They had remained stable over the past year after being lowered in April 2020 and October 2019.

The prices of 80-octane, 92-octane, and 95-octane fuel were raised by 0.25 Egyptian pounds each, to 6.25 Egyptian pounds ($0.40), 7.5, and 8.5 pounds per litre, respectively, the statement said.

The pricing committee said in the statement that it took into account international energy prices and the exchange rate, as well as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

($1 = 15.6700 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Ehab Farouk, writing by Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Jason Neely, Larry King) ((Nafisa.Eltahir@thomsonreuters.com;))