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Retailers may cut prices of diesel
Dubai oil retailers, Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco) and Emarat may again cut the price of diesel at the pumps following a steep decline in global oil prices, Gulf News has learnt from officials.
- By Himendra Mohan Kumar, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:52 September 15, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Dubai oil retailers, Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco) and Emarat may again cut the price of diesel at the pumps following a steep decline in global oil prices, Gulf News has learnt from officials.
"With international oil prices hovering close to $100 a barrel, there's a possibility of another price cut in diesel being announced," said one of the officials.
Spokesman for Enoc, Eppco and Emarat weren't immediately available for comment when reached by Gulf News.
The three oil retailers have cut the price of diesel six times over the past six weeks. Diesel currently sells at Dh16.25 per gallon at the pumps in Dubai. The retailers buy diesel at international prices and then adjust the local prices, based on the landed cost of the oil product.
The price cuts, 50 fils per gallon each time, were announced by the oil retailers following a downward trend in international crude oil and oil product prices since mid-July.
Diesel is widely used in the UAE as a transportation fuel with trucks the main users.
Any increase in the price of the fuel means greater inflationary pressures for the consumer as the fuel price rises are invariably passed on across the supply chain.
International oil prices have fallen sharply from a lifetime high of $147.27 a barrel on July 11, as an economic downturn in the US, the world's biggest oil importer, has slowed consumer demand. There are also fears the world's second biggest economy, Japan, may be slipping into recession. As well, the US dollar, a currency in which oil trading is mostly done, has been strengthening against the Euro, which has contributed to the bearish sentiments that currently prevail on the world's oil markets.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday, crude oil futures for October delivery in the US settled at $101.18 per barrel. In comparison, Brent crude futures' most recent recorded settlement was at $97.58 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
Do you think the diesel prices are still to high? Would you expect companies to further reduce prices? How will the slash in prices affect your business? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com
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