2023-09-12 11:52:34
Will motorists revisit spring 2022 prices at the pump, which exceeded 2.20 euros for a liter of gasoline? This is not yet the case, but fuel prices are increasing, and were around 1.90 euros on September 8. On Tuesday, September 12, the government brought together distributors and large and medium-sized retailers to ask them “an effort of solidarity” in order to keep prices below the symbolic threshold of 2 euros for the coming months.
The State is asking more from other fuel suppliers
Ahead of this meeting, TotalEnergies had already announced the extension of the fuel cap to 1.99 euros in 2024, “as long as prices remain high”. Several distributors (Intermarché, Super U) have also announced sales of fuel at cost price on certain weekends.
Selling at cost price cannot, however, be imitated by all fuel suppliers. An independent gas station “cannot sell without margin”affirmed, on Franceinfo, Frédéric Plan, general delegate of the French Federation of Fuels, Fuels and Heating.
The State, for its part, does not intend to finance measures in the face of this new surge in prices at the pump. For the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, this would not be “not responsible” to implement a new rebate policy – which had cost “12 billion euros”.
Fuel prices have started to rise again since July and are approaching 2 euros per liter. For unleaded 98, this amount is even already exceeded. For diesel, the price is around 1.88 euros, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Energy Transition. “I am convinced that we will remain in a zone of high prices as long as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues”specified to Monde Olivier Gantois, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries (UFIP).
The increase in brent explains this price increase
On September 4, the price of Brent exceeded, for the first time this year, 90 dollars (83.82 euros) per barrel. “The price of crude oil has risen to $4 since last week. Global demand is the first reason of these high prices”, underlined Mr. Gantois. Other reasons explain this increase in the indicator which makes it possible to set the price of oil from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
First, nine of the twelve member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC+) decided, from May, to reduce their oil production. Saudi Arabia in particular, since the kingdom decided to reduce its production of barrels by one million barrels per day in July, August and September. Along the same lines, Russia also chose to restrict its exports of oil barrels this summer (minus 500,000 per day in August, minus 300,000 in September).
The objective of these restrictions is to support the price of Brent at a high level. However, the curve jumped significantly between May and the beginning of September, going from around 72 euros to more than 90 euros in less than sixteen weeks. For Olivier Gantois, “this discipline of OPEC and Russia will continue in the coming months”.
Find below the price of fuel for all service stations in the region:
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