Myanmar military government denies rumors of fuel shortages

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government is denying that the country is suffering from a shortage of fuel, after rumors about low supplies of gasoline and diesel led to panic buying and long queues at service stations in several cities. Some gas stations in the country’s biggest city, Yangon, shut down Tuesday after exhausting their supplies. Several motorists said they could only buy a limited amount of fuel. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy denied there was a shortage, saying the problem was caused by rumors. A recent order by the central bank that all foreign currency bank holdings must be changed to the local currency has raised speculation over a shortfall of hard currency to pay for imports.