The average price of a liter of petrol fell to 2,198 euros per liter on Thursday, data from UnitedConsumers, which tracks the national recommended prices of the major oil companies. The petrol price has not been below 2.20 euros since February.
Pump prices have been falling for several weeks, mainly because the price of crude oil on the world market has been falling since the first half of June.
Compared to previous years, fuel prices are still sky-high, explains Paul van Selms of UnitedConsumers. “Those prices will still fall slightly, but the price of oil will remain high.”
The price of oil is very dependent on events in the world, says Van Selms. If there were to be a recession, prices will drop slightly. And and if there is unrest, prices will rise. “Imagine China takes Taiwan. That will push prices up a few cents.”
But it won’t be much, says the director of UnitedConsumers. We set the bar very high ourselves. We don’t want oil from Russia, and the oil companies have to abide by the government’s environmental requirements. This makes the oil more expensive. “And people forget that,” says Van Selms. “Eventually we will have to get used to it. We get used to everything, including high prices.”
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