UAE drivers welcome fuel price drop

Dubai: Motorists welcomed the price drop in petrol for November saying it will help ease the burden on their budgets but it will not necessarily affect the frequency and distances they cover when driving.

The Ministry of Energy on Wednesday announced the fuel prices for November, signalling another drop, the lowest since the petrol subsidies were removed in August.

Tristan Ferer, 35, an interior designer, said the drop in fuel prices helps considerably. The Filipino drives from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi daily, or sometimes to Al Ain, covering roughly 300km to 400km.

“On the first month following the oil deregulation, the prices of Special 95 increased considerably. So that affected my driving. It has made me plan my route more to maximise my fuel consumption as I drive a lot due to the nature of my work. That has become a habit now, a good one that helps us save and live comfortably as well,” Ferer, who drives a 4WD, told Gulf News.

For Praveen Kumar, 31, a manager for a service provider company who uses Special 95, he will pay Dh1.70 per litre next month compared to Dh1.72 per litre in October, and Dh2.14 per litre in August. He said the reduction in fuel cost is beneficial but doesn’t necessarily affect his driving.

“Whether the price of petrol is high or not, it doesn’t matter because we have to drive to work anyway; we have no choice. Most of our clients are in areas that are not reached by the Metro like in Al Warqa’a, Dubai InvestmentsPark, and the like,” Kumar, who refuels every three days, told Gulf News.

Although Kumar drives a company car and his company pays for the petrol, he said it’s not an excuse to drive mindlessly.

“It’s [price reduction] good for us because we’re a small company and it will benefit us a lot. The rents are high already; decreasing petrol prices provides some relief.”

Diesel truck drivers will benefit the most this November. Driving for years on Dh2.90 per litre of diesel, this November, Pakistani driver Noor Mohammad will see a Dh1.03 price drop per litre.

“Honestly, Dh1 per litre will make a big difference for us,” Mohammad, who owns a pickup and uses it for his house shifting business, said.

“We had the same cheap rate when the price was high. Now we can even lower the rate but still earn a decent living,” he added.

But the price drop will not affect prices of products or services right away, said Mousa Alavi, operations manager in a water bottling company, because the prices fluctuate on a monthly basis.

“When the deregulation was first announced, a positive impact on diesel prices were expected and we are very happy that the situation has come to that. In general, lower diesel prices would directly mean lower operating and transportation costs. However, since the prices are changing every month, the full implications for us being a new venture is yet to be seen,” Alavi said.

“I don’t think there will be changes in prices immediately for products like ours because the prices are fluctuating every month and we cannot peg our product pricing directly to it because of this. Also, there are many other factors involved such as overheads, rent, utilities, etc. But if the low prices remain constant over the coming months then it may affect pricing strategies of companies,” he added.