The refueling bill remains slightly lower than the levels observed at the beginning of January, at the time of the abolition of rebates per litre.
The refueling bill is slightly reduced, to the delight of consumers. Closely scrutinized in this period marked by massive inflation, prices at the pump have fallen since the beginning of February, allowing motorists to save a few precious euros on the road to winter holidays.
The trend continued last week, according to data from the Ministry of Energy Transition: on Friday, on average, a liter of diesel cost 1.8101 euros, down 2.8 cents over seven days. Similarly, the liter of gasoline was displayed, on average, at 1.8687 euro for the SP95-E10, when the SP98 cost 1.9580 euro. For these products, the decline is more limited, around one euro cent. For their part, E85 superethanol and LPGc remained stable, at 1.1194 euro and 0.9772 euro respectively.
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Thanks to the declines recorded in recent weeks, diesel has returned to its level at the end of December 2022, the lowest for almost two months. Same observation for gasoline, whose prices have not reached this level since mid-January. Developments explained above all by the fall in the value of the raw material on the markets: on Monday, the barrel of Brent was estimated at around 82 dollars, against more than 100 dollars in the first half of last year. However, the bill remains high: a year earlier, at the end of February 2022, a liter of diesel and that of gasoline were worth around six cents less than today.
A sensitive political issue
The fuel bill remains a highly inflammable political subject, and the prices at the pump are watched carefully, each week, by the executive. Last Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron called on the giant TotalEnergies to make an effort to relieve consumers’ wallets. Message heard: on Wednesday evening, the CEO of the company, Patrick Pouyanné, announced a price cap, indicating that “diesel and gasoline will not exceed 1.99 euros per litre” in its stations, throughout 2023.
If the left quickly criticized this measure, judging it insufficient, the energy company defended itself, recalling in particular that the price of one or two products was already above the two euro mark in “more than a hundredfrom its motorway stations. Not enough to satisfy some elected officials, however: “Over the last 13 months, the price of a liter of diesel has been almost always below 2 euros“, Criticized the coordinator of LFI and deputy Manuel Bompard.
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At the same time, consumers can still claim the fuel allowance offered by the government. This can be requested until the end of March: to check your eligibility, you can click on this link.