By Vicky Kapur

Mirroring the continuing stabilisation in global prices of crude oil, the UAE has announced a hike in the retail price of petrol for the month of May 2016, following a 10 per cent hike announced in April.

From today, May 1, ‘Special’ grade petrol (95 octane) will retail at Dh1.67 per litre, up 10.6 per cent from the Dh1.51 per litre that UAE residents used to pay for it until yesterady.

On the other hand, Super (98 octane) grade of petrol is now retailing at Dh1.78 per litre, up 9.9 per cent from the previous month's Dh1.62 per litre.

The price of E Plus gasoline (91 octane), the least expensive petrol in the country, has been set at Dh1.60 per litre, up 11.11 per cent from Dh1.44 per litre.

Diesel, which used to retail for Dh1.56 per litre until yesterday, now retails at Dh1.60, a jump of 2.56 per cent.

UAE’s Fuel Price Evolution Since Deregulation Super 98 Special 95 E Plus 91 Diesel May 1.78 1.67 1.60 1.60 April 1.62 1.51 1.44 1.56 March 1.47 1.36 1.29 1.40 February 1.58 1.47 1.40 1.37 January 1.69 1.58 1.51 1.61 December ’15 1.79 1.68 1.61 1.83 November ’15 1.81 1.70 1.63 1.87 October ’15 1.90 1.79 1.72 1.89 September ’15 2.07 1.96 1.89 1.86 August ’15 2.25 2.14 2.07 2.05 Pre-Deregulation July ’15 1.83 1.72 1.61 2.90

Source: Ministry of Energy; Prices in AED

Global crude oil prices surged by more than 17 per cent in the past 30 days, with oil prices now hovering close to the $50/barrel mark.

In January this year, oil prices had slumped to 13-yeal-lows, reaching close to the $26/barrel mark.

At UAE’s petrol pumps, even after this latest hike, the second in as many months, the price of petrol will remain less than what it was prior to its deregulation last year.

‘Special’ 95, for instance, will still be 2.9 per cent less expensive in May 2016 than it was in July 2015.

In July 2015, the UAE’s Ministry of Energy announced the end of the era of subsidised petrol and diesel prices, signalling the dawn of the age of fuel price deregulation, starting August 1, 2015.

Several other Gulf countries have since followed the UAE’s example and announced liberalisation plans for retail petrol prices in their respective markets.

In line with the liberalisation of fuel prices (diesel and petrol), the UAE Ministry now determines and announces the prices for the forthcoming month on the 28th of every month, with the said prices becoming effective from the first midnight of the next month.

The price of a litre of ‘Special’ grade petrol (95 octane) stood at Dh1.72 until July 31, 2015, before the UAE deregulated retail fuel prices.

In August 2015, the price of ‘Special’ petrol shot up 24.4 per cent to Dh2.14 per litre, but successive declines over the next seven months brought the price down 36.4 per cent to Dh1.36 per litre in March 2016.

Super (98 octane) grade of petrol went down to Dh1.47 per litre in March 2016, down 34.6 per cent from Dh2.25 per litre in August 2015.

The price of diesel has been the biggest beneficiary of the UAE’s fuel price liberalisation, with a litre of diesel, which cost up to Dh2.90 in Dubai and the Northern emirates before August 2015, sinking to less than half at Dh1.40 in March 2016 – a decline of 51 per cent in seven months.

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