The fuel cost at Ukrainian gas stations continues to rise: over the past month, a gallon rise of A-95 has risen by 0,1 cents. What is happening and what prices are to expect soon? TeleTrade analyst Sergei Rodler told for ua-times.com.
The main reason is the recovery of the oil market, the expert said. In July, “black gold” rose by more than 6%. Most of the fuel has to be imported from abroad, so it is worth taking into account the dynamics of the national currency, which since the beginning of the month fell against the dollar by 4%. At the moment, companies sell raw materials purchased at lower prices, but as new batches appear at gas stations, retail prices can rise by another 0,5 – 0,7 hryvnias, up to 2,65 USD per gallon. This can happen in the next two weeks.
Gasoline demand has recovered after quarantine, but large networks continue to lose some revenue, which increases the risk of a sharp rise in prices. The whole point is to intensify illegal gas stations, which return to the market after the “cleansing” and deprive decent companies of part of the profits. As a result, owners have to increase selling prices to make up for losses.
The recovery of oil prices has slowed down – investors want to see more clear signs of recovery in demand. However, there is no reason for the market to fall yet: the activity of OPEC+ and the United States is still much lower than at the beginning of the year. For example, Saudi Arabia even plans to reduce exports in July-August compared to June: from about 5.5 million barrels per day to 5 million. One reason is the seasonally high demand for fuel domestically.
Translation: Kirill Voitsyk
