Fuel prices still falling: here's how far they have fallen and how long the drops will last

Prices still falling on the network fuels. Acknowledging the latest reductions by operators, the averages of prices charged at the pump for petrol and diesel continue to fall, as do international quotations, which are falling for diesel, and broadly stable for petrol. A trend that, barring new uncertainties in the geopolitical scenario, is expected to continue in the coming weeks, as the president of the Unem (Union of Energies for Mobility), Gianni Murano, explains to Sole 24 Ore.com. "It is the consolidation of a bearish trend in the international markets of which we had caught the first signs in the second half of April, when Brent crude had gone from over 90 dollars/barrel to around 80 in the space of about ten days. We also noted this last week in our latest oil consumption release'.

According to Murano's analysis, 'this confirms that it is not at all true that fuel prices always go up, especially as the summer period approaches, but that they simply depend on the trend in international markets, which now seem more balanced. If you do the maths, you can see that on an industrial price level (net of taxes) fuels have fallen even a little more than international quotations. Diesel, for example, compared to the peaks in April has fallen by about 7 eurocents/litre, while at Platts quotation level it has fallen by just under 5. Petrol, a product in great demand in this period, has instead moved substantially in line.

On the future, Murano adds, 'the unknown weighs on the evolution of the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, but also what Opec+ will decide on the cuts issue at the meeting scheduled for 1 June'. In short, the context could change, but for the moment there are no particular shocks in the price trend.

Turning to the details of the Italian network, according to Quotidiano Energia's elaboration of the data communicated by the operators to the Osservaprezzi del Mimit updated at 8 a.m. on 30 May, the average price of self-service petrol is 1.872 euro per litre (1.876 the last survey), with the companies between 1.862 and 3 euro per litre (no logo 1.867). The average price for self-service diesel is 1.724 euro per litre (compared to 1.733), with the different brands between 1.710 and 1.739 euro per litre (no logo 1.717). For petrol, the average price was 2.015 euros per litre (2.018 the previous figure), with the coloured plants with prices between 1.948 and 2.088 euros per litre (no logo 1.925).

The average for diesel served is 1.869 euro per litre (against 1.872), with the companies' outlets with average prices between 1.8 and 1.945 euro per litre (no logo 1.775). LPG average prices are between 0.716 and 0.738 euro per litre (no logo 0.703). Finally, average prices for natural gas cars range from 1.302 to 1.379 euro per kg (no logo 1.312).