2023-08-19 09:01:00
While prices at the pump have started to rise once more, should we be worried regarding a similar trend for the price of fuel oil? Can we already predict the prices in effect in winter, should we fill up in summer to save money? We put the question to Olivier Gantois, the president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries (Ufip).
It is still very hot, but many French people are already starting to look towards winter and are wondering if the time is right to fill up their domestic fuel tanks. Is it a good plan to anticipate stock months in advance for winter heating?
How is the price of fuel broken down?
Let’s start by understanding what determines the price of fuel oil, a product very similar to diesel, and yet much less expensive. Taxes are the first explanation. To VATfor fuel oil, the same as for all petroleum products, is set at 20%. The one that varies is the domestic consumption tax on energy products (TICPE). Olivier Gantois, president of Ufip, recalls that it is 69 cents / liter on gasoline, 61 cents / liter on diesel, while it only amounts to 22 cents per liter for fuel oil.
Another parameter to take into account in the price of fuel oil is that it is also delivered in large quantities, “therefore the logistics cost is lower than for petrol or diesel, which are distributed in smaller quantities “, recalls Olivier Gantois.
For the rest, the price of a barrel of oil influences the price of fuel oil and the latter is, according to Olivier Gantois, relatively stable. “The increase in recent weeks is explained by an agreement by oil-producing countries including Russia and Saudi Arabia to reduce production to avoid surplusesassociated with a demand for oil up slightly”analyzes the president of Ufip.
Can we anticipate a trend?
As a result, it is difficult at this stage to project a real change in the course which would have a considerable impact on prices. Without going so far as to speak of a gamble, because the prices are relatively stable, and have been subject to variations overall of around ten dollars per barrel for more than a year now, Olivier Gantois acknowledges that “without necessarily being aware of it, there is a gamble effect on filling your tank now”.
As the European fuel oil market has been relatively stable since 2021, Olivier Gantois makes no progress on any real change in the market and recalls that in the field of energy, “gas and electricity have soared much more in recent months or even years than fuel oil”. In any case, do not rely on the received idea that summer is more interesting because of lower demand.
And for those who heat with wood pellets?
Another mode of heating which makes it possible to make stocks: wood. While in the winter of 2022, the price of pellets exposed, sometimes doubling compared to the previous year, prices seem to have returned to normal levels.
To make real savings on pellets, spring is the time to go regarding it, according to Eric Vial, director of the Propellet association, interviewed by The Parisian.
“Spring is the period when demand is weakest and as production plants continue to operate at the same pace, we have to destock. It is therefore traditionally the period of promotions. Then prices go up very slowly and a handful of euros on a regular basis”. Production, meanwhile, is doing well, assures Eric Vial, which makes it possible to guarantee sufficient stocks for the winter.
1692440924
#Inflation #time #fill #fuel #tank #anticipation #winter