An IMF official said fuel subsidies are very costly for a typical country and that targeted measures are more effective.

Spot silver slipped below $59/oz, down 0.28% intraday.

Indonesia's Public Service Ombudsman said fuel shortages have emerged in Bali and other regions, driven by vessel transport delays, distribution bottlenecks and a shift by consumers to subsidized fuel. Ombudsman official Abdul Ghoffar told a Jakarta briefing on Wednesday that queues at gas stations in tourism hub Bali and manufacturing centre West Java have exceeded 1 km. Parts of resource-rich Sumatra and Sulawesi are also facing shortages of subsidized diesel and gasoline. The agency attributed the disruption, in Indonesia — Southeast Asia's largest economy — mainly to a supply-demand imbalance, low service efficiency at stations, rising demand for subsidized fuel and logistics barriers. In Bali this week the shortage has disrupted schools and work, with some drivers queuing for hours to refuel.