• Home
• /
• Local business

UAE Retailers Cut LPG and Diesel Prices

DUBAI - Prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and diesel have been slashed again by UAE retailers in line with a sharp drop in international oil prices.

A 4.4 per cent drop in diesel price — from Dh11.35 to Dh10.85 per gallon — will come into effect at all filling stations run by Enoc, Eppco and Emarat in Dubai and Northern Emirates from Wednesday.

LPG prices have already come down by 8.6 per cent, from Dh58 to Dh53, for a 11 kilogramme cylinder effective January 3, leading retailers said.

Diesel prices recorded a cumulative decline of almost 44 per cent from a record high of Dh19.25 per gallon in July last year following the latest cut, the 14th consecutive reduction in less than six months, said Khalid Hadi, Group Brand and Marketing Manager for Enoc and Eppco companies. Diesel prices were cut twice in December 2008.

Hadi said LPG (cooking gas) price was cut for the second time since June when prices shot by a 20 per cent.

In November last year, LPG cylinder prices were slashed by around 10 per cent.

Under the new price structure, an 11 kilogramme cylinder, which was priced at Dh58, is now available at Dh53, while a 22 kilogramme cylinder now sells for Dh86 compared to its earlier price of Dh96 and a 44 kilogramme cylinder is now priced at Dh182, down from Dh197.

However, the price of petrol, which has been remaining steady at at Dh6.25 per gallon for Special (octane 95), Dh6.75 per gallon for Super (octane 98) despite the global oil price volatility, will continue to hold as it has been indirectly subsidised by the government.

Industry sources said a cut in petrol prices would be possible only in the event of international crude prices dropping below $30 per gallon. From an all-time peak of $147 per barrel in July, crude oil prices have come down to $36 as of on Sunday.

Sources said retailers’ margins on petrol has been under pressure as its price was fixed by the government. “Because the state-controlled prices remained unchanged despite sharp surge in crude oil prices, all the three Dubai-based oil retailers reportedly lost more than Dh2 billion on petrol sales in 2007.

· issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com