Secretary-general Metta Banterngsook said the office would soon present the government with a list of "proposed options" to handle short-term impacts.

"It depends on the government as to what options they would like to implement," he said, adding that the measures are being considered as it is expects retail petrol prices will remain above Bt30 per litre throughout the year.

This year, oil prices have increased by US$20 (Bt764) a barrel and retail petrol prices have increased by Bt4 a litre.

Oil experts have suggested the cut, in order to curtail the domestic increase. At present, oil traders contribute Bt2.50 to the Oil Fund for every litre of petrol sold, and Bt0.95 for every litre of diesel.

The government will campaign for more consumption of alternative fuels. Its target for alternative-fuel consumption this year is one billion litres, valued at Bt25 billion, Metta said.

According to the Energy Ministry, diesel consumption in the first six months dropped 9.3 per cent year on year, while petrol consumption dropped by 3 per cent. As consumers switch to cheaper alternative fuels, bio-diesel usage jumped 2,000 per cent while gasohol rose by 50 per cent.

During the period, Thailand consumed 52.6 million litres of diesel a day on average, down from 58 million litres a year earlier. Gasoline consumption fell to 19.7 million litres, from 20.4 million.

Crude oil imports also dropped 1.7 per cent year on year in terms of volume, from 848,000 barrels a day on average to 833,000 barrels. However, due to the 36.5-per-cent increase in prices, import value rose 29.7 per cent from the same period last year to Bt376 billion.

Based on the estimated import of 820,000 barrels throughout the year, the import value could reach a record high of Bt700 billion this year.