Petrol has become fractionally more expensive per litre at Irish pumps this summer, as prices rose by 1c per litre on average.
According to the AA, the average national price for a litre of petrol now stands at €1.81. Diesel prices have remained steadier, holding at €1.74 per litre.
Those seem oddly low…
In theory, the prices of both should have risen considerably, as the 1st of August saw the Irish Government reinstate the last of the fuel excise duty reductions that had been made in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis and the energy shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the time, 20c per litre was taken off the cost of petrol, while 15c per litre was removed from diesel, when both prices were spiking well above the €2 per litre mark.
What has been happening with those excise cuts?
Since the beginning of 2024, the Government has been step-by-step reversing those excise reductions, but the price of fuel has either dipped slightly or held steady. How so? Because the wholesale price of a barrel of crude oil has dipped and currently stands at USD$80 per barrel. Normally, the cost of a barrel of oil skyrockets when there is political turmoil in the Middle East, but for the moment, oil trading seems relatively unaffected by Israel’s invasion of Gaza or rumblings in Iran. That may well change.
What happens next?
Equally, prices for both petrol and diesel are guaranteed to increase when the Government delivers Budget 2025, as there is a built-in automatic increase in carbon tax, which will see costs added at the pump. Fuels For Ireland (FFI), the lobby body that represents the Irish fuel industry, has this week called on the Government to reverse such cost increases, noting that it puts particular pressure on forecourt operators in border counties, as the cost of a litre of fuel is currently significantly lower in Northern Ireland.
Jennifer Kilduff, Head of Marketing & PR for the AA (Ireland), said, “We saw a slight increase again in petrol this month, but the price of diesel has remained steady which is great to see. Average monthly charging costs for EV drivers have increased this month as a result of providers reversing the decreases we saw in July. It will be interesting to see how the next few months go and what budget 2025 will bring for the motorist.”