High fuel prices, close to record levels: the highest in Sicily, Friuli and Bolzano
Prices have once again come within a hair’s breadth of their highs (€1.968 per litre for petrol and €2.181 for diesel). For both fuels, however, prices have now exceeded the levels recorded on 18 March, when the Government first intervened by slashing excise duties.
With Brent crude hovering around $100 a barrel, motorists are once again facing rising fuel prices. Prices have thus returned to levels close to the highs recorded during the last four months of tension in the Middle East.
At petrol stations, where today’s national average prices stood at €1.957 per litre for petrol and €2.141 for diesel, prices have risen in recent days, overshadowing the slow but steady falls that had led the Government to halt the series of excise duty cuts, which had cost two billion euros.
Diesel on the move
As always, diesel prices are rising the fastest, driven by stronger demand due to the fuel’s use both in freight transport and in sectors such as fishing and agriculture (it is no coincidence that tax credit schemes have been made available for these three sectors).
The records
As mentioned, prices have once again risen to just shy of their highs, namely €1.968 per litre for petrol and €2.181 for diesel. For both fuels, however, prices have now exceeded the levels recorded on 18 March – the date on which the Government first intervened by slashing excise duties. This measure, however, is not currently part of the Government’s plans.
Regional situations
Returning to the record figures, in some regions the thresholds have already been exceeded. In Sicily, a litre of diesel cost 2.173 euros yesterday, slightly less than in the Province of Bolzano (2.183 euros), which has almost always topped the ‘ranking’ of the most expensive regions. And indeed, looking at the average price, the South Tyrolean town is still in first place (€1.993), followed by Sicily and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (both at €1.977).
