Elise Denjean, edited by Gauthier Delomez 06:40, March 10, 2022
Several French service stations show higher diesel prices than gasoline.
An unprecedented anomaly which is due to the Ukrainian crisis and the possible embargoes which can be decided on the imports of Russian oil, like the last decision of the United States.
This is unheard of.
At some gas stations, diesel is now more expensive than gasoline.
On the national price average, the two fuels are only a penny apart, while gasoline is taxed more, up to about ten cents.
The reason for this phenomenon is simple: it is a bit of a panic on the market in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
It is in the Dutch city that the prices of crude oil, gasoline and diesel are set for the whole of Europe.
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The fear of a possible embargo
In reality, buyers fear and anticipate a possible embargo, like the decision taken by the United States on Tuesday, and therefore they are turning away from Russian diesel, for fear of not wanting to sell their stocks.
These buyers are switching to North American diesel or diesel from the Middle East, driving up their prices.
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This is a general trend according to Olivier Gantois, the president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries (Ufip).
"Today, in the price of a barrel at 130 dollars, there are about 35 dollars which come from the crisis in Ukraine, and in particular from an anticipation of a possible embargo", he estimates at the micro d'Europe 1. For the president of Ufip, a continuous rise in diesel seems, on the other hand, unlikely.
But as the price per barrel continues to rise, all fuels will rise simultaneously.