Fuel prices unchanged

Petrol and diesel prices are to remain unchanged up to the end of May, the Public Investments Ministry said yesterday.

It said Enemalta had requested the Malta Resources Authority to keep prices unchanged. The prices were last adjusted in January.

The ministry said that although international oil prices were still considered relatively high, they had remained more or less stable over the past few months and lower than in 2006.

The ministry said, although there was upward pressure on international oil prices in the past two months, Enemalta had been able to compensate, and hence keep pump prices stable, through savings it had made in purchases over the previous months.

Although international oil prices had not fallen back to 2004 figures, 2007 purchases were less than the highest of 2006. Thanks to new diesel contracts entered into six months ago, Enemalta saved some US$373,000 in the cost of diesel used at the pumps in a year.

The ministry said local pump prices compared well with those in other European countries.