(Adds government, PN statement)
Fuel hedging has left Maltese motorists paying the highest price for petrol and diesel in Europe as the international price of oil continues to fall.
An analysis of fuel prices carried out by The Sunday Times of Malta showed that in November motorists in Malta paid the highest price for fuel across the EU.
The comparative exercise took into account the price of fuel and excluded tax. Figures were obtained from the European Commission’s weekly oil bulletin.
The price of petrol was locked at €1.44 per litre (including taxes) in May until the end of the year after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced a two cent cut during a press conference at Auberge de Castille. Diesel was also locked at €1.36 per litre.
But while fuel hedging at the time may have spared motorists increases in fuel prices for three successive months, it backfired after July when international oil prices, including oil products, started to drop.
Malta’s petrol price on November 3 (the latest EU oil bulletin) stood at 71c per litre (excluding taxes), almost eight per cent higher than Denmark, which came next at 66c per litre.
Diesel also followed the same pattern with the latest oil bulletin showing that motorists paid 73c per litre (excluding taxes), tipping Denmark for the top spot.
More details in The Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com.
PRICES AT THE PUMP SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER THAN IN MANY EU COUNTRIES - GOVERNMENT
In a statement this afternoon, the government said that prices at the pump in Malta from January to November this year have been significantly cheaper than prices in many EU countries including Italy and the UK.
It said that for the first 10 months of the year, the government’s stability policy for petrol and diesel prices resulted in Malta consistently beating the EU average prices.
The tables below indicate the prices at the pump in Malta compared to the EU average and markets we are familar with such as UK and Italy, the government said.
|
Petrol |
Malta |
UK |
Italy |
Weighted Average EU Coutries |
|
Eur/ltr |
Eur/ltr |
Eur/ltr |
Eur/ltr |
|
|
Jan-14 |
1.440 |
1.569 |
1.729 |
1.537 |
|
Feb-14 |
1.440 |
1.560 |
1.714 |
1.524 |
|
Mar-14 |
1.440 |
1.572 |
1.718 |
1.536 |
|
Apr-14 |
1.460 |
1.556 |
1.722 |
1.539 |
|
May-14 |
1.440 |
1.571 |
1.739 |
1.555 |
|
Jun-14 |
1.440 |
1.595 |
1.739 |
1.560 |
|
Jul-14 |
1.440 |
1.651 |
1.762 |
1.593 |
|
Aug-14 |
1.440 |
1.626 |
1.755 |
1.567 |
|
Sep-14 |
1.440 |
1.620 |
1.739 |
1.559 |
|
Oct-14 |
1.440 |
1.614 |
1.723 |
1.551 |
|
Nov-14 |
1.440 |
1.587 |
1.665 |
1.491 |
|
Diesel |
Malta |
UK |
Italy |
Weighted Average EU Coutries |
|
Eur/ltr |
Eur/ltr |
Eur/ltr |
Eur/ltr |
|
|
Jan-14 |
1.360 |
1.663 |
1.657 |
1.433 |
|
Feb-14 |
1.360 |
1.657 |
1.639 |
1.419 |
|
Mar-14 |
1.360 |
1.666 |
1.636 |
1.421 |
|
Apr-14 |
1.360 |
1.644 |
1.627 |
1.407 |
|
May-14 |
1.360 |
1.655 |
1.634 |
1.413 |
|
Jun-14 |
1.360 |
1.680 |
1.629 |
1.411 |
|
Jul-14 |
1.360 |
1.716 |
1.643 |
1.428 |
|
Aug-14 |
1.360 |
1.685 |
1.623 |
1.412 |
|
Sep-14 |
1.360 |
1.680 |
1.617 |
1.411 |
|
Oct-14 |
1.360 |
1.673 |
1.606 |
1.397 |
|
Nov-14 |
1.360 |
1.646 |
1.562 |
1.355 |
The aim of the government’s fuel pricing stability policy wasto enable businesses and families to plan ahead, it said.
HIGHEST FUEL PRICES - FACT NOT PERCEPTION - PN
In another statement, the Nationalist Party said that it was a fact and not perception that the Maltese paid the highest prices in Europe for fuel.
This fact was however completely ignored by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during a radio interview this morning.