UAE petrol prices among the cheapest in the world

After falling for seven subsequent months, the price of petrol in the UAE has gone up by a tad over 10 per cent from this morning.

Even after the hike, the price remains less than what it was prior to the fuel price deregulation which became effective from August 1, 2015.

‘Special’ grade petrol (95 octane) now retails at Dh1.51 per litre, up 11 per cent from the Dh1.36 per litre that UAE residents paid for it until yesterday (March 31).

Even after the hike, the ‘Special’ 95 grade is still 12.2 per cent less expensive than it was in July 2015, when it used to retail for Dh1.72 per litre.

In that light, the most recent price hike will not have a huge impact on residents as we’ll still be paying less at the pump than what we paid until the end of January, 2016 (see table below).

In fact, the price we pay at the pump is still among the most affordable worldwide. According to ‘Global Petrol Prices’, the average price of petrol around the world was $0.98 per litre as of March 28, 2016.

There remains substantial difference in price among countries, with Kuwait petrol prices being the least expensive in the world ($0.23 per litre, or less than 85 fils in UAE money).

The most expensive petrol can be bought in Hong Kong, where a litre of black gold will set you back by $1.81 (Dh6.65). Filling a big 4x4 will cost you a small fortune in Hong Kong.

The differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline.

In the UAE, we are among the lucky few who pay the lowest in the world – until yesterday, we were among the Top 5 countries with the least expensive petrol (see chart).

Even today, with the hike taken into account, the UAE will feature among the Top 10 countries with the least expensive petrol.

The UAE has announced a hike in the retail price of petrol for the first time in eight months.

Super (98 octane) grade of petrol now retails at Dh1.62 per litre, up 10.2 per cent from the Dh1.47 per litre until last month (yesterday).

The price of E Plus gasoline (91 octane), the least expensive petrol in the country, has been set at Dh1.44 per litre, up 11.62 per cent from Dh1.29 per litre.

Diesel, which used to retail for Dh1.40 per litre until yesterday, now retails at Dh1.56 from April 1, a jump of 11.42 per cent.

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