It will be even cheaper at the stations. The market favors Polish drivers

7 marca 2023, 16:35 | Business Insider

| Jacek Fraczyk

From the point of view of the Polish driver, everything is starting to go in the right direction, i.e. towards cheaper fuels. Not only has the zloty strengthened, but international oil prices are going down and have already fallen after temporary increases to the levels from the beginning of the year. In addition, competition in the country is greater than in the times of Lotos.

April futures for European Brent crude fall in London trading on Tuesday by more than 1 percent to even less than $85. per barrel (53 cents per litre, ie PLN 2.32 at the average exchange rate of the National Bank of Poland), and in New York, American WTI oil dropped to a similar extent to USD 80. This is the effect of data from China, specifically the decline in Chinese imports, including oil imports in January and February. And this despite the abolition of covid restrictions.

The declines are limited by oil supply concerns. “The key unknown for 2023 will be the disruption to exports of Russian oil and refined products,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note, quoted by Reuters.

To make this joyful news for drivers not enough, the zloty has been strengthening against the euro and the dollar in the last two weeks. Over the period of 12 months, it looks very good, because the zloty gained a total of 5.9 percent. to the euro and 4.1 percent. to the dollar. This helps fuel prices at stations in Poland.

Diesel prices below PLN 7

Auchan, E.Leclerc, Makro and Carrefour stations already display for diesel fuel on pylons, prices usually below PLN 7. At Auchan in Sosnowiec there is even 6 zlotys 89 gr. And such levels happen not only at hypermarket stations, according to the data of the cenapaliw.pl website. For less than PLN 7, you can already buy diesel at Shell stations in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Auto-Darex in Gdynia, Statoil in Szczecin, Imwar in Płock and Wasburk in Chorzów. The autocentrum.pl website also lists the Orlen station in Krakow at ul. Zakopane. The data comes from drivers’ entries.

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Petrol Pb 95 is available for as much as PLN 6.40 per liter – that’s what the E.Leclerca station in Rzeszów wants. Below PLN 6.50 you have to pay at the BP station in Warsaw, ul. Fieldorfa, Orlen in Janów Lubelski and Auchan in Łomianki, Sosnowiec and Gliwice.

The southern location of many of the above-mentioned stations contributes to the hypothesis that Orlen’s competition for the Polish market with Slovak refineries is beginning in earnest. The 413 Lotos stations taken over in Poland by the Hungarian MOL, forced by the European Commission as part of the merger, may be supplied with fuel by Slovnaft, which belongs to MOL. In this way, the theoretical competition between Orlen and Lotos – theoretical, because both companies were state-owned, i.e. had the same owner – can become a real competition between MOL and Orlen for Polish drivers.

MOL with a stock market capitalization of less than USD 6 billion. Although it is three times smaller than Orlen, valued at USD 18 billion, it has its own refineries located close to Poland and can supply the market with competitively priced fuels, mainly cheaper diesel. In this way, the competition on its part may replace the competition of fuels from Belarus and Russia from over a year ago on the Polish market. From the point of view of drivers, you have to cheer for the competition to grow, because only this can ensure cheap fuel.