Dhaka, Feb. 26 -- Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir on Thursday said the recent hike in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices at the consumer level is driven by retailers, not importers.

"Importers are not increasing prices. Retail traders are responsible for the price escalation in the market," the minister told reporters after a meeting with LPG importers at the Commerce Ministry conference room.

The minister said the government discussed pricing and supply issues in detail with importers and noted their concerns.

To prevent market manipulation at the retail level, Muktadir said, monitoring will be intensified through local administrations in the coming days.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) had initially f...