Business | Oil & Gas
Dubai raises diesel prices by Dh1.50
Dubai oil retailers - Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco), and Emarat raised diesel prices effective from yesterday by Dh1.50 a gallon to Dh18.50 per gallon.
- By Himendra Mohan Kumar, Staff Reporter
- Published: 14:00 May 27, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Dubai oil retailers - Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco), and Emarat raised diesel prices effective from yesterday by Dh1.50 a gallon to Dh18.50 per gallon.
Gulf News on Monday reported the level and day of the increase before it was officially announced.
"The increase reflects surging international prices that have broken through the $173 per barrel level for low-sulphur diesel - a rise of 21 per cent over the month of May - and $132 for crude oil," Enoc/Eppco said in a statement yesterday.
"The increase is the result of the growing pressure from rapid international price hikes in both diesel, because of refining, shipping and additive costs and crude oil, which have left the oil company with no alternative.
"We procure product from all of the GCC national refineries at the international price and although we continually work hard to offset the negative margin incurred on fuel sales, such exceptional market forces leave us no option but to try to recoup a proportion of these losses. Equally, we would consider a price reduction to correlate with any lowering of international prices in the future," the statement quoted a spokesperson for Enoc as saying.
Minimising impact
"Enoc/Eppco endeavour to minimise the level of price increases passed on to the consumer, and to maintain fuel prices at amongst the lowest in the developed world," the statement added.
Unlike the capped petrol prices in the UAE, which are state-set, diesel prices in Dubai move in tandem with global oil prices.
Since October 23 last year, when the price of diesel was Dh11 per gallon at Dubai's pumps, its price has shot up by 68.18 per cent, exerting greater inflationary pressurese as diesel is widely used as an industrial and commercial transportation fuel.
With the latest price increase, the diesel price difference between Dubai and Abu Dhabi has widened to 115.11 per cent.
Abu Dhabi so far has kept diesel prices steady at the pumps at Dh8.60 per gallon.
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