UAE petrol prices to fall in March 2020

Motorists will pay less at the pumps next month

The petrol prices in the UAE for March have been announced. Jeffrey Biteng / The National

The Fuel Price Committee in the UAE announced that motorists will pay almost 4 per cent less at the pumps in March.

This comes after two months of flat prices, and amid a fall in global oil prices due to the spread of the coronavirus in the past few weeks.

Here is the breakdown of prices per litre:

• Super 98: Dh2.16 - down from Dh2.24 in February

• Special 95: Dh2.04 - down from Dh2.12 in February

• Diesel: Dh2.25 - down from Dh2.40 in February

Petrol prices in the UAE were liberalised in August 2015 so that they adjust with the market.

Oil prices fell for a fifth day on Thursday to their lowest since January 2019 as fears grow over a coronavirus pandemic, which would lower demand.

Widely-used international benchmark Brent was down 1.1 per cent, at $52.83 a barrel this morning, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also fell by 1.1 per cent, to $48.18 a barrel. Brent has dropped 10.6 per cent in the past five trading sessions.

"Speculations that coronavirus may spread in the United States prompted a series of fresh selling," Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi, told Reuters.

If an outbreak "continues to worsen in the US, oil prices will likely decline further, especially with US gasoline prices already plunging," Mr Saito said.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said earlier this week that Opec+ is considering all options to mitigate the impact of the disease on oil markets.

The alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia is set to meet on March 5 and 6 in Vienna, to review its pact to curb production by 1.7 million barrels per day.

As of February 27, the number of coronavirus cases in mainland China stood more than 82,000, with about 2,800 deaths.

In other countries there were at least 2,895 cases. Iran has confirmed 141 cases with 22 deaths, while Kuwait has confirmed 43 cases.