UAE slashes petrol prices for June, lowest in four months

The UAE on Wednesday slashed retail petrol prices by 21 fils per litre for the month of June across all three variants of Super 98, Special 95 and E-Plus, bringing them to the lowest level in four months.

The Fuel Price Follow-up Committee reduced Super 98 and Special 95 rates by 6.6 per cent and E-Plus by 7 per cent.

Starting tomorrow, Super 98 petrol will cost Dh2.95 a litre in June as compared to Dh3.16 in May; the price of Special 95 price has been reduced to Dh2.84 per litre as compared to Dh3.05; while E-Plus 91 has been cut to Dh2.76 a litre as against Dh2.97 a litre during the comparative period. Meanwhile, the diesel price has been reduced to Dh2.68 per litre, down from Dh2.91.

The UAE deregulated petrol prices in 2015 to be in line with global rates to reduce the burden on the exchequer and losses incurred by fuel retailers in the country.

Globally, oil prices were under pressure in May due to weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data. Brent and the West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) July contracts were on track for monthly declines of more than 7 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.

Brent crude futures for August delivery slipped 15 cents to $73.56 a barrel while WTI fell 14 cents to $69.32 a barrel by 10.56 am UAE time. Both benchmarks fell by more than 4 per cent on Tuesday.

Oil-producing group Opec+ will meet on June 4 and analysts expect a surprise cut in production again by the producers is more likely, similar to the one announced in April.

Residents welcome

Petrol prices in the UAE are much cheaper than the global average of Dh4.7 per litre, according to globalpetrolprice.com.

Adnan Butt, a Sharjah resident who drives daily to Dubai for his work, welcomed the decision.

“I am very excited to see such a big drop in petrol prices because I love to drive. Over the weekends, I drive my family to different places in the country. And if I combine my total petrol expenditures, I would be easily saving around Dh400-Dh450 in June,” said Butt, who drives a four-wheel vehicle.

Suresh Patel, a sales executive, said he spends over Dh1,200 every month in fuel costs as he drives around the country for meetings and delivering goods almost daily.

“I always watch out for petrol price announcements at the end of every month because this directly impacts my purchasing power. I am excited to see such a good drop in retail petrol prices as it will help me save decent money in June,” said Patel.

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