Fuel prices are currently at relatively low levels, especially when compared to the prices of recent months. This Friday, December 16, the average price of diesel was 1.74 euros per liter, 6 cents less than a month ago, despite the drop in State and TotalEnergies rebates.
And above all, almost 40 cents less than during the peak registered in mid-June, when diesel was shown on average at 2.13 euros per liter at the station.
The first reason for this fall: crude oil prices, with a barrel of Brent from the North Sea recently trading around 80 dollars, after having flirted with 120 dollars a few months ago. The prospect of a sluggish global economy is creating lower demand for oil, which is driving prices down.
A decline that won’t last
But the question remains whether this drop in prices at the pump will last. The will of the United States continues to be to want to achieve it with the release of strategic stocks, but they should also reduce the pace of sale of these reserves in the coming weeks.
Other potentially inflationary signs on fuel prices: a gradual recovery of economic activity in China and the evolution of the conflict in Ukraine. The ban on importing Russian diesel from February also raises fears of a rise in the price of this fuel.
In France, specifically, the end of the discounts at pumps on December 31 at midnight, replaced by compensation of 100 euros according to income, will also mechanically produce a price increase of 20 cents at TotalEnergies stations and 10 cents at the rest of distributors.
Source: BFM TV
