Government says petrol prices below EU average, PN says Malta has most expensive fuel

PN says government’s fuel price lock-in backfired due to reduction in oil prices.

Fuel prices in Malta from January and November this year have been significantly cheaper and below than the EU average, the government said this afternoon.

The government – which in May locked the price of petrol and diesel at €1.44 and €1.36 per litre respectively – argued that from January to November, fuel prices this year have been lower than the EU average prices.

However, in a tit-for-tat battle, the PN argued that “it was a fact and not a perception” that the Maltese are paying for the highest prices in Europe for fuel. In a statement, the PN also took umbrage at the prime minister for “ignoring” the matter completely during Sunday morning’s interview – claiming that Muscat was more focused on criticising Simon Busuttil.

In April, Muscat announced a fuel price lock-in, and fixed the prices of petrol and diesel at €1.44 and €1.36 respectively. The fuel hedging deal sought to “beat the market” amid turbulence in the international oil market.

However, weaker demand coupled with surging US production has seen the price of the benchmark Brent crude oil price drop by 30% since June to around $83 a barrel, and as a result countries reduced their fuel prices.

But, Malta’s fuel prices have been left the same since June leaving motorists paying one of the highest prices for fuel across Europe.  The latest EU oil bulletin published in November showed that Malta’s petrol price stood at 71c per litre, almost 8% higher than Denmark at 66c per litre.

In August, the price of petrol in Malta was the 11th highest, while in August it became the fifth highest. Moreover, in September, amidst lower oil prices, petrol and diesel prices were the third highest in the EU and in October, Maltese prices climbed to the second most expensive.

Notwithstanding the fall in oil prices across Europe, the government this afternoon insisted that Malta’s petrol price of €1.44 per litre was cheaper than the EU, UK, and Italian averages. In addition, it also said that the diesel price of €1.36 per litre was also cheaper during January and November 2014.

In October, PN deputy leader Mario de Marco had called on the government to immediately reduce fuel prices to match the international price slide of oil. However, de Marco’s calls were quickly dismissed by the government who argued that the PN’s calls were “technically incorrect” as it based its arguments on the price of fuel at one particular point and ignoring cheaper prices established in the past months.