Cyprus warns of further fuel price increases — Cyprus Mail
Fuel prices at petrol stations in Cyprus may continue to rise in the coming weeks. Savvas Procopiou, head of the association of petrol station owners, said that, based on previous experience, he expects several more increases. According to Cyprus Mail, recent developments in the Middle East conflict this week pushed oil prices to their highest level since May.
Procopiou noted that the exact scale of the future increase is unknown. He said prices had previously risen by one to two cents per litre, so several more similar adjustments are possible.
Fuel taxes
The representative of petrol station owners believes that further government intervention should be primarily aimed at vulnerable groups of the population. Last week, the authorities announced a reduction in the fuel consumption tax by 8.33 cents until the end of November.
Procopiou proposed introducing a mechanism for automatically reducing taxes if fuel prices exceed a set level. He also allowed for the possibility of an additional general tax cut if the finance ministry permits it.
Dinos Lefkaritis, managing director of the oil company Petrolina, called fuel prices unpredictable, although he acknowledged the current upward trend. According to him, prices in other European countries have risen more significantly, while company margins in Cyprus remain very low.
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Petrol and diesel
According to Lefkaritis, since March 1, the average price of a litre of A-95 petrol in Cyprus has increased by around 35 cents and stands at about €1.66. Diesel has risen by approximately 51 cents over this period, to about €1.93 per litre.
He noted that Cyprus has no oil refinery and imports finished petroleum products. Therefore, he said, retail prices are primarily affected by prices set by refineries, including in Haifa or Greece, rather than directly by the price of Brent or crude oil.
Petrol stations in the northern part of the island also announced this week a price increase for all types of fuel by 6 Turkish lira, or 11 cents, per litre. A litre of A-95 petrol is sold there for 77.12 Turkish lira, equivalent to €1.38, while diesel costs 76 lira, or €1.36.
The rise in global oil prices is taking place amid tensions around key oil transport routes in the Middle East, including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz. The article also mentions a drone attack on a Saudi east-west oil pipeline, which the Saudi Arabian government linked to Iran-backed forces in Iraq.
