Brent has fallen sharply since the beginning of July 2022. Is this decline lasting? For now, prices at the pump are not changing. The rise in diesel and gasoline prices remains relevant. It is also linked to the instability of the Mauritian rupee on the markets.
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The price of Brent fluctuates a lot in recent days, it even tends to fall, notes Défimédia. However, this expected decline will have no immediate consequence on the liter of diesel or unleaded. The managing director of the State Trading Corporation (STC), Ravij Servansingh explains: “It is true that the price on the international market is falling. But our Price Stabilization Account is still in deficit. Thus, there is no need to organize a meeting of the Petroleum Pricing Committee (PPC) in this moment. We are observing the global trend and hope that the decline will be continuous. Subsequently, we will see if a decline in Mauritius is possible. But for the moment, no decline is envisaged.
This analysis, on the part of the person responsible for the import and sale of hydrocarbons, is not unanimous. The Association for the protection of the environment and consumers (APEC), by the voice of Suttyhudeo Tengur, calls for a reduction in fuels: “The prices must be reviewed on the next cargo of fuels which will land in Mauritius. I understand that the STC always complains of incurring losses, but we must also think of the population who, while all prices are rising indiscriminately, made huge sacrifices.”
In 2008, Brent reached 117.87 dollars. Two years later, the barrel was worth $110.8 on the stock market. Monday, July 18, 2022 at 4 p.m., the price was $105. That is , $23.79 less than the price on March 8, 2022.
Does this sudden decrease imply a drop in the selling price of a liter in service stations?
Not necessarily ! Objectively, to know if you are paying the fair value for your Diesel or your gasoline, you have to know when the tanker took charge of the products and what the prices were at this time T, but also the value of the currency.
The Mauritian rupee is going up, but it had fallen sharply. On July 18, 2022, Rs 1 was equivalent to $0.021835. Almost a year ago, Rs 1 was trading at $0.023202. This difference seems small but on thousands of liters of fuel, the bill increases quickly.