Fuel prices just short of the €2 mark after recent hike
The price of gasoline 95 jumped to €1.949 per liter on Monday, that of gasoline 98 to €1.999 and the price of diesel to €1.889.
The prices were last hiked on Thursday, with the price of gasoline 95 hitting €1.799 per liter.
Mart Raamat, head of the Estonian Oil Association, said the trend is set to deepen. "Morning news of the world market oil price surge suggest price pressure will be retained in Estonian filling stations," he said.
Raamat said that while Russian oil escaped the first round of sanctions last week, news suggests that Russian oil is struggling to find buyers. "This has an effect on price that soared to $110-120 per barrel as a result," he said.
"Over the weekend, messages of the West leaning toward an oil embargo started coming from the White House. While no decision has been made, these signals saw the price of oil hit $140 for a moment this morning and is currently trading around $128," Raamat said.
The head of the association said that major producers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE could technically ramp up production, it boils down to diplomacy and geopolitics. "I imagine Western diplomats are toiling to get OPEC on board and have it increase output."
Raamat said that the current situation makes it virtually impossible to forecast to price in Estonian filling stations. "I dare not say what an official oil embargo would entail. The Estonian government can opt for short-term alleviation as every state decides its own excise duty policy. But the general pressure is on prices to grow," Raamat said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski