Petrol and diesel prices fell slightly last month but concerns remain that crude-oil prices and instability in the Middle East could lead to dramatic increases in the coming months.
AA Ireland’s monthly Fuel Price Survey showed that petrol dropped by 2c per litre to €1.83 during September, while diesel fell by 1c to €1.84.
The slight decreases followed a surge in prices over the summer, when petrol soared by 15c per litre and diesel increased by 21c per litre. This was largely due to the restoration of Excise Duty on the fuels.
Blake Boland of AA Ireland said the modest fall in fuel prices was welcome, but warned that prices remain “somewhat unsettled” with changes to taxes and duties having an impact.
“The recent budget announcement saw Carbon Tax increasing from €48.50 to €56 per tonne emitted. This had the effect of adding up to €0.03 per litre onto petrol and diesel. However, we didn’t see this following through to the cost at the pumps,” he said.
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“There was good news for the motorist on excise duties. The Government was due to restore the last tranche of excise duties at the end of October. This would have seen an extra €0.08 on petrol and €0.06 on the cost of a litre of diesel.
“It was announced by the Government that this has been put off well into the new year,” added Mr Boland.
He warned that fuel prices remain susceptible to the impact of rising cost of crude oil and volatility in the Middle East in the months ahead.
“The price of crude oil remains elevated at approximately $90 per barrel, up from about $70 during the summer,” he explained.
“On top of that, the political situation in the Middle East remains unstable, and the markets are nervous about the impact this may have in the coming months.”
Meanwhile, Mr Boland said electric vehicle (EV) drivers had benefited from recent reductions in the cost of electricity.
“With most electricity providers dropping their prices in recent weeks, the average EV driver is now paying €1,017 per year to fuel their car over 17,000km.
“This compares favourably with a similarly sized diesel vehicle that will be paying approximately €2,190 to cover the same distance,” he said.
“However, those in a position to charge at home and take advantage of very competitive night rates could be paying less than €300 per year to travel that national average of 17,000km.”
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