Price of Diesel Hits Record High
January 17th, 2012
The price of diesel has hit a record high and stood at 1.336 euros per litre after having risen by 4% over two weeks at the end of December, which is the date of the European Union’s last official record offered for Spain.
Europa Press reported that the new price, collected from the EU Oil Bulletin, exceeds the previous 1.329 euros per litre record high of July 2008, when oil hit a record $147 a barrel, and market tensions contributed to cement the credit crisis that erupted two months later with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.
A litre of petrol also rose by 4.8% in the last two weeks of the year, and now stands at 1.358 euros, although it is still below the record high achieved in the last week of April last year of 1.381 euros.
Diesel fuel now costs 8% more than in the first week of last year, while petrol prices have increased 12.5% during the same period.
The devaluation of the euro against the dollar, which is the currency in which oil trades in international markets, is the main reason for the higher fuel prices in recent weeks, according to the Spanish Association of Oil Product Operators (AOP).
Since the highs of April last year, the euro has depreciated 14% against the dollar and exchanges today at $1.27, which makes the eurozone’s efforts in the acquisition of oil much harder.
In fact, if you take the price of oil in euros, a barrel of crude oil is currently 90 euros, which is a level almost similar to that of July 2008, when oil reached the record high price of $147.
This situation generates additional pressure on the European market, despite the fact that at present a barrel of Brent is trading at $113 and Texas at $102, well below the historical record.
In addition, the AOP warns that tensions over the possible ban on Iran and its impact on the supply of crude oil in the international markets are presently affecting the price of oil.
Related Posts
- Price of Diesel Overtakes Petrol
- Semana Santa Sees Petrol Prices Hit New Record
- Petrol Prices Rise 2.6% in a Week
