Last week, on average, the price of a liter of diesel increased by fourteen cents, approaching its historic record.
The lull was short-lived. After a drop two weeks ago – the first of the year – fuel prices started to rise again last week, according to reports from the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Since the beginning of the year, the liter of diesel has taken 58 cents, and that of SP95 37 cents.
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Over the last seven days, on average, a liter of diesel has jumped 14 cents, reaching 2.1165 euros. That of SP95 reached 1.9670 euro, brushing the bar of two euros, when that of SP98 increased to 2.0620 euro. A respective increase of three cents and 2.6 cents. These different fuels are therefore approaching their historic record, reached two weeks ago.
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A subject that has become central to the presidential campaign
The increase is driven by the increase in the prices of raw materials and petroleum products. After a temporary drop in mid-March, the price of Brent rose again, rising in ten days from 98 dollars to nearly 120 dollars a barrel. What weigh heavily on prices at the pump. The war in Ukraine and the fear of a weakening of supply are worrying operators and inflating prices, including for diesel. European diesel market pricesexperience exceptional progress“, underlines IFPEN, this Monday, adding that”the difference between the price of diesel and the price of Brent thus reached peaks (+420 $/t on March 24 or 30 ct€/l) well above the traditional thresholds“. This explains the current increases.
The subject has become central in the presidential campaign: from April 1, a discount will be granted to consumers in order to reduce the bill. This measure completes others already announced, including the inflation allowance or the increase in the scale of the mileage allowance. If he is re-elected, Emmanuel Macron could go further via a “more intensive device“for people forced to use their vehicle to work, as well as for households”whose income is low“said Jean Castex last week.
Some candidates call for going further: Éric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Mélenchon call for “block pricesfuel, when Marine Le Pen pleads for a reduction in taxes which increase the final price. In normal times, these – the TICPE, the VAT and the famous “tax on tax», in other words, the VAT on the TICPE – weighs some 50 to 60% of the total price. With the explosion in the price of raw materials, this share has slightly decreased.
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