Crude oil prices may be falling, but things are not so rosy for European petrol consumers.

Petrol pump prices in the 28-member European Union hit their highest since early November last week, according to the EU’s statistics office.

Benchmark Brent crude oil, on the other hand, dropped more than 30 per cent over the same eight-month period to around $57 a barrel.

Behind the divergence are robust global demand for petrol and a stronger dollar, which makes dollar-priced commodities like oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies, said analyst Oliver Jakob at Swiss-based Petromatrix.

“The price for the consumer in Europe looks very different than if you look at the Brent price in dollars,” Jakob said.

By contrast, average diesel pump prices in Europe were last week at their lowest since March 30, according to Eurostat.

Unlike petrol, diesel supplies have risen steadily in recent months as huge refineries in the Middle East, Asia and the United States increase their output while demand has remained relatively stable.

The drop in oil prices over the past year sparked strong demand for petrol across the world from China’s rapidly expanding middle class to the United States, where consumers are driving more and buying bigger cars.

This demand has also offered Europe’s embattled refiners a rarely seen run of profits as dozens of tankers filled with petrol and blending components leave Europe for Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas monthly.

Petrol prices could ease as the summer holiday season, in which demand historically peaks, draws to an end.