UAE petrol and diesel prices to rise in October

Motorists in the Emirates will pay more at the pump next month

Vehicles queue to refuel at a petrol station in Dubai. AFP

The prices of petrol and diesel in the UAE will rise next month, it has been announced.

Prices increased in September and August to reflect the trend in the oil market.

The breakdown in price per litre for October is as follows:

• Super 98: Dh3.44 – from Dh3.42 in September (up 0.6 per cent)

• Special 95: Dh3.33 – from Dh3.31 in September (up 0.6 per cent)

• Diesel: Dh3.57 – from Dh3.40 in September (up 5 per cent)

• E-plus 91: Dh3.26 – from Dh3.23 in September (up 0.9 per cent)

The UAE liberalised petrol prices in 2015 to allow rates to move in line with the market. In 2020, prices were frozen by the Fuel Price Committee after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The controls were removed in March 2021 to reflect the movement of the market once again.

Oil prices breached the $95 mark this month amid concerns of tight crude supplies and signs of an economic recovery in China, the world’s second-largest economy and top crude importer.

The International Energy Agency expects a “substantial” crude market deficit in the fourth quarter of this year because of Opec+ output cuts.

The Paris-based agency expects global oil demand to rise by 1.5 million barrels per day in the second half of this year, compared with the first half, exceeding supply by 1.24 million bpd during that period.

Opec+ members Saudi Arabia and Russia announced this month that they would extend supply cuts of a combined 1.3 million bpd to the end of the year.

As part of the voluntary cuts, the kingdom is extending its output reduction of a million bpd until December. Russia is rolling over its export cut of 300,000 bpd until the end of the year.

Last week, Russia announced that it had temporarily banned gasoline and diesel exports in response to domestic shortages. Later on Monday, Moscow said it would lift the export ban on bunkering fuel for some vessels and diesel with high sulphur content.

UBS does not expect Brent crude to move above $100 a barrel on a “sustained basis” as it would lead to higher US crude supply.

Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, is forecast to trade in the range of $90 to $100 a barrel over the coming months, before ending the year at $95, the Swiss lender said in a research note last week.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has raised its 12-month Brent forecast to $100 a barrel from $93 and said that the benchmark was “unlikely” to sustainably exceed $105 in 2024.

Brent crude was trading at $92.2 a barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was trading at $90.79 a barrel.