Monday, 23rd June 2008

Petrol and diesel more expensive

Filling your car with diesel will become more costly today as Enemalta hikes the price by €0.103 (4c5), the third increase in a matter of three months.

Though the price for diesel now stands at €1.206 (51c8) per litre, it remains the second lowest in Europe, after Bulgaria, with the EU average price surpassing €1.40 (60c).

The price of unleaded and lead replacement petrol will also go up today by €0.107 (4c6), reaching €1.197 (51c4) and €1.267 (54c4) respectively, making Malta's price the eighth lowest in Europe.

The price of paraffin has also increased by €0.119 (5c1) to €1.296 (55c6), while light heating oil went up by €0.109 (4c8) to €0.933 (40c1).

In a statement yesterday, Enemalta committed itself not to review the prices for unleaded, lead replacement petrol and diesel before the end of this year.

As global fuel prices continued to rocket, Enemalta sought to retain some stability by purchasing petrol and diesel in advance and covering the cost till the end of the year.

Enemalta said it managed to close a contract on the purchase of fuels towards the end of April, when the market had eased somewhat and before prices soared again in the following two months. This translated into a 14-per-cent decrease in the price for Malta consumers, compared to today's market prices.

By purchasing fuels in advance, Enemalta said it managed to save $12.5 million on diesel between April and this month; savings which were passed directly to the consumer.

The corporation will also have saved an additional $14 million on petrol and diesel by the end of the year compared to international market prices.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Kamal Awad (on 26/6/08)

Governments do not produce money but manage money collected from taxes. Reducing the latter would lead to a lower standard in all government -related services such as health, education…etc.

Lower taxes on ‘fuel’ may mitigate the situation for short period but eventually will lead to un-manageable disasters as long as our life style is fully depending on fuel. Until a solution is found, every body should manage own position.
This is not because of Brussels. THIS IS A ‘MAN-MADE’ GLOBAL ISSUE controlled by some culprits (NOT THE PRODUCERS OF OIL!). Citizens from OPEC member states still feel the pinch but in food prices and other items .

The worst yet to come.

Here I quote a paragraph of Mr. Barroso' s speech of last week. ("There are people who are really suffering and having trouble paying their fuel bills and buying food," he continued, telling reporters that the union of 27 member states was witnessing for the first time "a new kind of poverty in Europe".)

effie carbonaro (on 25/6/08)

well done!sic

Donald Gouder (on 25/6/08)

The current unleaded price is the same as here in Ireland with the difference is that the salaries here are 3 or 4 times as much in Malta.

Joe Galea (on 25/6/08)

....and the salaries remain the same.!!!

Why doesn't the government ease the taxes on fuel to compensate for the high fuel rise?

sam ramage (on 23/6/08)

At the moment this is illegal due to LPG subisies and ADT permits.
However I am informed that the Malta Resources Authority will soon be
issuing the necessary legislation so that the use of LPG in vehicles will
be legalised.
This is a copy off an e-mail from enemalta regarding running cars on gas.
I think its about time now to use other types of fuel the sooner the better to give people an allternative fuel other than diesel, petrol, bio-diesel.

Kamal Awad (on 23/6/08)

The era for cheap oil and food is over. The worst yet to come.
we have only one options: Do change life style or die.
High oil prices is a serious problem for (US) consumers particularly people with low incomes. The harsh reality is that crucial resources are irreplaceable and alternatives energy resources are still somewhat a pipe-dream.

What actually concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way still many people think things are.

Because it's a sure bet that ‘change of our life style’ should be the key issue and politicians don’t want that to be a public discussion. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
In my opinion- reducing taxes on fuel will not solve the problem but to re-consider consumption habits (in every thing) will.

Joe Tabone-Adami (on 23/6/08)

I think it would be extremely informative were Enemalta and/or the National Statistics Office to publish figures of vehicle fuel sales (excluding fuel to buses) for the last periods since the cost of such fuel started spiralling upwards. Frankly I have noticed no decrease whatsoever in the amount of private cars on the roads in recent years - particularly during the weekends and the summer season. As I observed some time ago, the increasing use of private cars reflects the affluence around, and it does not appear to have abated with the fuel price increases. I sincerely hope the figures will somehow prove me wrong!!

laurie smith (on 23/6/08)

I don't know who sets the fuel price in Malta, here in Australia the fuel price at the pump is set by the oil company, and we don't know how much is going to be from day to day, at the weekend inclusive mondays and public holidays the price is always dearer than during the rest of the week, so if the price of fuel in Malta is set by the government you should be better off, because the price of the fuel could result in in more or less votes for the incumbent. I'm happy to say that as at this moment our fuel price is still cheaper than Europe.

Mark Brincat (on 23/6/08)

David ... if I were to have the same salary as my colleagues in the UK, then I would not be worrying, nor grumbling. Check out how much an IT person (like you ...) is earning in the UK ...

However, I'm mostly complaining that the only Government's action to rises in oil prices is ... increasing fuel prices! Nothing more. Nothing less! No counter-measures. No alternative solutions. Just passing over the buck to the public!

It's high time that the Government wakes up and starts thinking about renewable energies. And FAST! I don't want to pay for the Government's idleness! Full stop!

David Galea (on 23/6/08)

What do people in Malta expect ... if the price of oil has gone up all around the world how can the general public expect that the price of fuel in Malta remains the same? Is everyone expecting the government to take the hit for everything? In the UK prices have gone from 89p a litre (unleaded fuel) in March/April of last year, to £1.18 a litre this month. I would think that rather than complaining too much about the price of the actual fuel, one would have to look at what has been done to ensure that the fuel is as cheap as it can be. I can't believe that some people are as narrow minded as this, to think that rising fuel prices are a government quest for more money. Use the internet and check out the rise in price of oil over the last few months, and then do the same exercise with the price of petrol and diesel in Malta over those same months ... if you still have a complaint then, fire away, if not, I'd suggest you thank the government for its work!

John cassar (on 23/6/08)

We are all complaining about the cost of fuel and the tax that has been imposed. Soon there will be 'kilometre tax' for the distance you travel by bus, taxi and private car! They are still working on how to tax your feet!

Petrol and diesel more expensive

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