Abu Dhabi: Petrol prices in the UAE are set to rise for the third time this year, a source in oil company, Adnoc, has told Gulf News.
A number of different types of petrol including Special, E-plus and Diesel, will be affected by the increase, which the source said will take place after the Eid holiday.
The rise in fuel costs is in line with a report by Gulf News three months ago which stated that a rise in petrol prices would take place in three stages, before the end of the year 2010. This is the third such rise.
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A senior official at oil company Adnoc said it did not want to impose additional increases so as not to not provoke people who "already suffer from high and unreasonable prices" after the second increase of last month.
However, he added that the company is subject to significant pressure from suppliers such as Enoc, Eppco and others who are requesting that they too increase their prices immediately.
The source said that in private meetings of the boards of directors of fuel suppliers, it emerged that they feared significant losses if fuel prices remained at the current levels.
The increase is likely to be 20 fils per litre. This means that the cost of Special fuel will increase from Dh1.72 to Dh1.92 per litre, E-plus will increase from Dh1.61 to Dh1.81 and Diesel will increase from Dh2.35 to Dh2.55 per litre.
All three fuel companies are lobbying for petrol price to reach up to Dh2.50 per litre by the end of the year. However, the decision to increase prices further will depend on the consumers' reaction to the third increase.
The respective companies have refused to comment on the issue.
Gulf News surveyed a number of Emiratis who expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the rise in fuel costs, which one described as "dramatic". They all pointed out that the price of oil in the UAE is now double what it is in any other country in the GCC.
"I travelled with my friends to Saudi Arabia last week and filled the tank of a car with a six-cylinder engine for about Dh 85, the same [amount] would have cost about Dh155 in the UAE," Khalid Al Hammadi said.
Adel Ahmad was equally unimpressed with the increase. "I travelled to Qatar via Saudi Arabia and filled my eight-cylinder four wheel drive for Dh120, which would be about Dh210 in the UAE," he said.
Khalid Ahmad Al Hammadi went to the United States on vacation in July. "I rented a six cylinder caravan and filled the tank for Dh145, which would be about Dh200 in the UAE," he told Gulf News.
