UAE petrol prices to rise in May 2023 while diesel to cost less

Motorists across the Emirates will pay more at the petrol pump next month

Petrol prices for next month in the UAE have been announced. Victor Besa / The National

The price of petrol in the UAE will rise next month while diesel will cost less, it has been announced.

Prices were last increased in March against a backdrop of surging global oil prices but were cut in April following to reflect the price trend in the oil market.

UAE petrol prices for May 2023

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

• Super 98: Dh3.16 — from Dh3.01 in April (up nearly 5 per cent)

• Special 95: Dh3.05 — from Dh2.90 in April (up 5.17 per cent)

• Diesel: Dh2.91 — from Dh3.03 in April (down about 4 per cent)

• E-plus 91: Dh2.97 — from Dh2.82 in April (up 5.31 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 UAE's 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.

Brent crude, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, is down 6.5 per cent since the beginning of this year amid demand concerns.

Brent has given up all its gains made since Opec+ members announced voluntary crude production cuts of 1.66 million barrels per day on April 2.

The output curbs, which will be in place until the end of this year, are aimed at supporting the stability of the oil market, producers said at the time.

However, the outlook for crude is improving after China, the world’s second-largest economy and top crude importer, reopened its economy following a strict zero-Covid policy for nearly three years.

In March, Opec secretary general Haitham Al Ghais said he was “cautiously optimistic” about China's reopening but added that a slowdown in the US and the EU could dampen crude demand this year.

“There is phenomenal demand growth in Asia [but] what concerns us more is actually the slowdown we see in Europe and the US in terms of the financial situation [and] the inflation,” Mr Al Ghais said at the CeraWeek energy conference in Houston.

In a recent report, Opec stuck to its 2023 growth projection for oil demand despite lowering its forecast in North America and Europe amid a slowing economy.

However, crude demand growth has been adjusted lower for “all four quarters of 2023, to reflect the most recently received data for first quarter of 2023 and account for an anticipated decline in economic activity in OECD Americas and OECD Europe”, Opec said in its oil market report this month.

The oil producers' group said it expected the global economy to continue growing, albeit at a slower pace.

On Friday, Brent closed 2.7 per cent higher at $80.33 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, settled up 2.7 per cent at $76.78 a barrel.