UAE petrol prices to edge higher in October

Motorists across the Emirates will pay more at the pumps for both petrol and diesel

An Adnoc service station in Abu Dhabi. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Fuel prices in the UAE will rise in October, the country's fuel price committee announced on Wednesday.

Prices fell at the start of September after six months of increases but will now edge higher as oil prices hit a three-year high this week.

The new prices show an increase of around 2 per cent for Special 95 and Super 98, while diesel jumps 5.46 per cent from October 1.

The breakdown per litre is as follows:

• Super 98: Dh2.60 – up from Dh2.55 in September

• Special 95: Dh2.49 – up from Dh2.44 in September

• Diesel: Dh2.51 – up from Dh2.38 in September

Petrol prices in the UAE were liberalised in August 2015 to allow them to move in line with the market.

However, they were held by the Fuel Price Committee last year after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. They then started to adjust again in March.

Global oil prices have been on rise this year amid the continued economic recovery as nations ended Covid-19 lockdowns and removed travel restrictions.

Brent hit a three-year high on Tuesday, reaching $80.75 to put it up 55 per cent since the start of the year. A stronger than expected economic recovery has led to demand eclipsing supply. That prompted Goldman Sachs to raise its year-end forecast by $10 for Brent to $90 per barrel.

Prices eased on Wednesday. Brent crude was down 1.78 per cent at $77.68 a barrel at 10.19am UAE time. US West Texas Intermediate fell 1.86 per cent to $73.89 a barrel.

"Oil prices have been rising in recent days, supported by rising demand as economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic and amid a power crisis in Europe and China, which would force governments to switch to crude oil to generate more electricity and meet their nations' needs," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade, said on Wednesday.

While’s there’s a pause for now, “oil prices will remain supported and elevated,” Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in Singapore, told Bloomberg. “The stocks, especially in the US, are still quite tight. If global stocks deplete further, we can see Brent going even higher toward $85.”