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Price of gas has increased by 20 pct, price of diesel fuel by 37 pct
The price of gas has increased by 20% since the beginning of the year, and that of diesel fuel by 37%, including the reduction of 50 bani (0.5 RON) per liter at the pump, according to the data provided by the Competition Council.
The average price of standard gasoline in Romania, according to information from the Price Monitor, was 7.39 RON/liter (with a 50 bani discount applied) on September 2, while diesel fuel was sold, on average, at 8 37 RON/liter (with discount).
Since the beginning of the year, without taking into account the 0.50 RON per liter discount for the final customers, the price of gasoline has increased by about 28%, and that of diesel fuel by about 44%.
The Platts international quotes for petrol and diesel (more relevant in setting fuel prices than the quotation of crude oil), as well as the value at which crude oil is traded, although down from the historic maximum in June of this year, are still at a level that has not has been reached since 2014.
On September 2, crude oil traded around at USD 93 a barrel, about 20% more than the value at the beginning of the year.
In the same period, the Platts international quotes for petrol, converted into RON to capture the effect of the RON/dollar exchange rate, increased by 20%, while the quotes for diesel is 77% higher compared to the beginning of the year.
The application of the 50 bani discount, starting July 1, by all major distributors, makes the real average prices on September 2, compared to those on January 1, 2022, only 20% higher for gasoline and 37% higher for diesel, data from the Competition Council show.
From July 1, 2022, with the entry into force of Emergency ordinance (OUG) 106/2022, in addition to the 50 bani/liter discount applied by all distributors, the average price of gasoline decreased by 76 bani/liter, while the average price of diesel was lower by 35 bani/liter.
As regards the comparison with EU prices, according to the data provided by the European Commission's Oil Bulletin publication, the average prices of gasoline in Romania were constantly below the EU average.
As regards diesel fuel, the situation was similar for most of the last 13 months, with the exception of a few moments (May, July, August 2022), when the average price of diesel in Romania was at the same level as or even slightly above the average price in the EU.
It should be mentioned, however, that the prices reported by Romania to the EC are the full prices, without the 50 bani/liter discount applied by fuel distributors following OUG 106/2022, from July 1. Therefore, the real prices paid by consumers in Romania are by approximately 100 euros/1000 liters lower than those published by the EC.
Thus, in the week August 29 - September 4, 2022 (the latest data available), gas price with taxes was by 10% lower than the EU average (10th place), without taxes - by 6.7% lower compared to the EU average (21st place), without taxes and with the 50 bani per liter discount, by 14% lower than the EU average.
For diesel, the price with taxes was by 4% lower than the EU average (12th place), without taxes - by 1.4% lower than the EU average (16th place) and without taxes and with a 50 bani per liter discount, by 8.2% lower than the EU average.