The Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) held a press conference about rising gas prices on Sunday.

Some gas stations raised the price of a liter of gasoline by about MNT 270 on Friday evening. The stations blame the rise on the falling price of the tugrik on international markets. In December, Mongol Bank raised its U.S. dollar rate from MNT 1,336 to MNT 1,428.

CTU President S.Ganbaatar demanded that the Government respond to the situation and called for a meeting of the trilateral national committee of the Labor Social Agreement on January 9. He said the CTU will work to save the salaries of workers and the pensions of the elderly.

He said the CTU will demand that Parliament and Mongol Bank do something to improve living standards. He questioned why Mongol Bank raised its U.S. dollar rate when the country’s foreign currency reserve stands at USD 3 billion, and foreign investment and exports are increasing. He added that petroleum importers have increased their prices without first conducting adequate research.

He also asked the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection to fulfill its legal responsibilities to investigate the matter.