Rising fuel prices are accompanied by government measures to help households. Please note that the announced price reduction does not apply immediately everywhere.
The government has implemented a measure that saves 18 cents per liter of diesel or gasoline purchased at a service station. The entry into force is on April 1, 2022 and for four months. the liter of diesel is displayed at an exorbitant average price, around 2.10 euros on April 1, 2022. Once the reduction has been removed, it will take around 1.92 euros per litre. However, the measure may not be felt immediately.
In effect, the measure is a subsidy granted on crude oil, which is then refined to become fuel. It is therefore the refiners who pass on this lower cost to the fuel distribution chain, under government control. However, some stations, approximately one establishment in five, take longer to fill their tanks. Their stocks may therefore have been purchased before this discount, at the old price; they cannot therefore apply the discount immediately, but will do so when they renew their fuel stock.
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Why a drop in fuel prices?
The measure was decided in order to help households in the face of soaring fuel prices, due to the uncertainties of oil supply. At issue: the situation between Ukraine and Russia.
However, it could be countered by a possible rise, due to the volatility of world oil prices. As explained Thomas Saint-Antonin in his article for the Internet user, “the effects of the repercussions of the rise in the barrel of oil on the prices charged in service stations are appreciated approximately 8 to 10 days later, in other words, next week”. However, new increases are to be feared according to the International Energy Agency, which warns of upward fluctuations in this energy crisis. The dependence on fossil fuels is beginning to have very concrete effects on the daily life of the French people.