To put local fuel costs in line with international levels, the UAE is set to announce retail fuel prices for the month of October today or tomorrow.
Authorities have announced revised fuel rates on the last day of each month for the past three months consecutively; previously, fuel prices used to be announced in the last week of every month, ever since UAE announced deregulation in 2015.
The UAE has slashed retail fuel prices for the past two months; in August and September, fuel prices were reduced by around Dh1.4 per litre in the wake of a drop in energy prices due to fear of recessions gripping the global economy.
Retail fuel prices crossed Dh4 per litre mark for the first time in June 2022 since UAE announced deregulation in 2015, and reached a peak of Dh4.63 per litre in July 2022.
In September, Super 98 petrol costs Dh3.41 per litre, Special 95 at Dh3.30 and E-Plus 91 at Dh3.22 – while diesel has been priced at Dh3.87 a litre for the month of September.
Earlier this week, global oil prices plunged to their lowest levels since January this year following fears of a looming global recession. Brent was trading at $89.6 and WTI at $82.39 a barrel on Thursday afternoon.
According to globalpetrolprices.com, the average petrol cost in the UAE is Dh3.3 per litre, which is much cheaper than the global average petrol price of Dh4.66 per litre.
The drop in fuel prices positively impacts inflation in the countries, making the prices of food and other groceries affordable for consumers.
As the UAE’s economic recovery bounces back from the pandemic, retail fuel consumption is also on the rise due to growth in economic activity.
Despite being down by about 15% from pre-pandemic levels, fuel consumption is still not at pre-pandemic levels. However, fuel volume is rising quickly, particularly in the jet fuel market. According to Saif Humaid Al Falasi, group CEO of Enoc, a major fuel retailer in the UAE, retail fuel is slowly increasing but is still 10 to 15% below the pre-pandemic level.
