why prices at the pump should not fall before the end of the year

2023-09-07 13:59:29

1.85 euro on average for diesel, 1.92 euro on average for unleaded 95… For several weeks, the price of a liter of fuel has been rising steadily, crossing the symbolic bar of 2 euros in many gas stations. According to the figures of Ministry of Energy Transition, a liter of diesel today costs 20 cents more than at the beginning of July when that of SP95 increased by 14 cents. An increasingly complex situation for motorists.

Faced with these increases, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced that he was asking TotalEnergies to extend its price cap at the pump to 1.99 euros, “beyond December 31”. On the other hand, and despite the voices that may have been raised in the opposition, in particular that of Xavier Bertrand, who asked the government for a rebate of 15 to 20 cents on a liter of gasoline, Bruno Le Maire was inflexible. According to him, this would be “not responsible” and “not consistent with budgetary commitments and the release of whatever it costs”.

But how to explain this new rise in the price of fuel, which might continue for many weeks?

Saudi Arabia and Russia continue to cut exports

First of all, because the price of a barrel of Brent also continues to rise. Concretely, it is the price of crude oil, fixed in the case of Brent by the London stock exchange. According to figures from the Ministry of Energy Transition, the cost of dated Brent is currently 86.4 dollars per barrel, while its price was 75.7 dollars per barrel at the beginning of July.

But the increase in the barrel of Brent is due to several factors, in particular production cuts in two main oil-exporting countries:Saudi Arabia and Russia. Riyadh announced on September 5 to maintain its production drop of one million barrels per day until the end of the year. For its part, Moscow also said it would deprive the market of 300,000 barrels a day until December 31.

Rise in oil consumption worldwide

While the supply is falling, the demand for fuel is on the rise. With the summer holidays and the trips by car but also those by plane, the consumption of gasoline has greatly increased.

In addition to travel-related consumption, a large part of oil production is used by China, driving up the price of a barrel. If this Thursday, the barrel of Brent from the North Sea lost 0.45% and rose to 90.19 dollars, China remains the largest importer of crude oil in the world. Oil that comes mainly from Russia: last May, for example, imports of Russian oil by China reached 9.71 million tonnes, a level not seen since the start of the war in Ukraine.

A situation which should continue, and which does not give hope of a drop in the price of fuel before a minima the end of the year.

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