Petrol prices up by 3c9

The price of both unleaded and lead replacement petrol has gone up by 3c9 a litre due to a rise in the price of oil, the Investments and Industry Ministry said yesterday.

Unleaded petrol has increased to 44c5 a litre and lead replacement petrol now sells at 47c5 a litre.

The price of diesel has also gone up, by 3c to 41c8 a litre.

The ministry said international fuel prices in the third quarter of the year remained consistent with the trend of the past months and continued to rise due to global market pressures of increasing global demand for fuels and tight supply.

The US dollar has also been gaining strength over the last few weeks, aggravating the prices of imported fuels in terms of the lira, the ministry added.

Tables provided by the ministry shows that Malta has the third lowest unleaded petrol and diesel prices among 21 European countries. The Netherlands has the highest prices for unleaded fuel and the Czech Republic has the lowest. In the case of diesel, Great Britain has the highest prices, with Luxembourg having the lowest.

The Malta Labour Party condemned the increases, which, it said, will cause additional hardships to both consumers and the economy. It blamed the increases on the Nationalist government's refusal to use the hedging system whereby oil is bought at a favourable price, leading to price stability.

The Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU insisted the new prices were too heavy and rises were taking place too often. It said the government was passing on the increases in fuel to the self-employed and businessmen while keeping the tax on fuel at a high level.

The GRTU called on the government to cut the tax on fuel. This would not only help retain competition in many services but also prevent small businesses from going bankrupt. Moreover, it said, a reasonable and proportionate tax reduction on fuel would be encouraging for many businessmen.

Enemalta Corporation listed all the adjustments to the prices of fuel:

Unleaded petrol: from 40c6 to 44c5 per litre.

LRP (lead replacement petrol): from 43c6 to 47c5 per litre.

Diesel: from 38c8 to 41c8 per litre.

Kerosene: from 38c5 to 41c6 per litre.

Light heating oil: from 18c1 to 24c per litre.

TFO 200 deg: from Lm133.50 to Lm168.50 per metric ton.

TFO 450 deg: from Lm128.50 to Lm163.00 per metric ton.

TFO 950 deg: from Lm120 to Lm 155 per metric ton.

Enemalta said the price adjustment has been calculated according to the formula through which the prices of petroleum products are made to reflect the fluctuations in prices on the international oil market.