Fuel prices expected to rise further, petrol station owners warn

Nicosia, Cyprus. Fuel prices at the pump are expected to rise further in the coming weeks after developments in the Middle East conflict pushed oil prices to their highest level since May, petrol station owners’ association chairman Savvas Prokopiou said on Friday.

He said previous increases had typically ranged between one and two cents per litre, while the scale of any further rises remains uncertain.

Expected increases

Prokopiou told the Cyprus News Agency that petrol station owners were monitoring successive increases affecting their sector and other industries.

“We, as petrol station owners, are unfortunately monitoring the successive increases which generally affect both our industry and other industries. Based on experience, we expect a few more increases,” he said.

He added that it was not yet known how many cents prices would increase by, but noted that rises of one or two cents per litre had occurred in the past.

Calls for targeted support

Asked whether the government should take further action to contain prices, Prokopiou said any intervention should be targeted at vulnerable groups.

The government announced last week an 8.33-cent reduction in fuel consumption tax until the end of November. Prokopiou said an additional general tax reduction could be considered if the finance ministry had the capacity to do so.

He also called for a formula under which taxes would be automatically reduced when fuel prices exceed a specified level.

Oil companies cite uncertainty

Petrolina managing director Dinos Lefkaritis described fuel prices as unpredictable, saying developments anywhere in the world could affect petroleum products.

“They may go up, they may go down, something may happen anywhere in the world and affect the issue of petroleum products,” he said, adding that prices were currently on an upward trend.

Lefkaritis said fuel prices had risen substantially in other European countries and that Cyprus was performing well at present. He said Petrolina’s current prices were to the detriment of the company and possibly other companies, with profit margins remaining very low.