The AA Ireland’s monthly Fuel Price Survey has shown a slight drop in Petrol and Diesel prices over the last month. Petrol is down from €1.85 in September to €1.83 and Diesel has fallen by 1 cent from €1.85 to €1.84 per litre.
This small but welcome drop in prices comes on the back of a surge in prices during the summer. September’s survey showed an increase of €0.15 per litre in Petrol, and an increase of €0.21 cent in Diesel. This was largely due to the second tranche of Excise Duty restorations and an increase in the wholesale cost of Petrol and Diesel. Although prices have eased slightly into October, they still remain elevated from May of this year when Diesel averaged €1.47 per litre.
Blake Boland, Head of Communications with the AA Ireland commented that “prices are still somewhat unsettled, with changes to taxes and duties having an impact. The recent budget announcements saw Carbon Tax increasing from €48.50 to €56 per tonne emitted. This had the effect of adding up to €0.03 per litre onto Petrol and Diesel. However, we did not see this following through to the cost at the pumps.
“There was good news for the motorist on Excise Duties. The government was due to restore the last tranche of Excise Duties at the end of October. This would have seen an extra €0.08 on Petrol and €0.06 on the cost of a litre of Diesel. It was announced by the government that this has been put off well into the new year.”
“However, the price of Crude oil remains elevated at approximately $90 per barrel, up from about $70 during the summer. On top of that, the political situation in the Middle East remains unstable, and the markets are nervous about the impact this may have in the coming months.”
Electric Vehicle fuelling gets cheaper
Electric Vehicle drivers have fared better with recent price drops in electricity costs. The AA Ireland have introduced an EV specific index into their monthly survey. Spanning a range of public and domestic electricity prices, it shows how much the average EV driver is paying to fuel their car.
With most electricity providers dropping their prices in recent weeks, the average EV driver is now paying €1,017 per year to fuel their car over 17,000km. This compares favourably with a similarly sized Diesel vehicle that will be paying approximately €2,190 to cover the same distance. However, those in a position to charge at home and take advantage of very competitive night rates could be paying less than €300 per year to travel that national average of 17,000km.
