Fuels: can the drop in the price of diesel last?

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full. Since this morning, motorists are once again chasing the cheapest station.

In Essonne, we find 2.13 euros per liter, or less 30 cents in two days. “I launch the application. It allows me to select the cheapest gas station,” explains a craftsman at the pump, who is looking at the price of diesel.

He paid 90 euros for his fill: "Two weeks ago, it was more than 100 balls, it was 110 balls. So, yes, of course, all reductions are welcome. But hey, we know that here, it's just a small patch", he believes.

Since Monday morning, the State has been selling part of its strategic stocks at low prices. On average, today, diesel is eight cents cheaper at Système U compared to Saturday. It's also 14 cents less at Carrefour and even 18 cents at Leclerc and Intermarché.

The government assures that it will ensure that the reductions are properly applied: "I am meeting with all the representatives of the distributors to ensure that indeed, first of all, the millions of barrels that we are releasing, they are going well everywhere in France", said Roland Lescure, the Minister of the Economy. “The price will rise” in the event of resumption of strikes in the Middle East. For the moment, the drop is only visible in half of the points of sale in France, because the government is gradually releasing its low-cost diesel. Émeric Marin, director of Évole Énergies fuel and fuel activities, supplies the service stations.

He made his request last week and has just received his shipment: “We have strategic stocks which are much cheaper, which means that we can offer a discount of around 15 cents including tax per liter,” explains the intermediary. Result: in France, on average, a liter of diesel went from 2.38 euros to 2.29 euros, or nine cents less. But how long can this decline last?

According to some specialists, if strikes resumed in the Middle East, this could reverse this drop in prices. “If this were to be the case, at that point, the price of a barrel soars again, tensions reappear on refining, and therefore the price will rise,” indicates Patrice Geoffron, professor of economics at Paris-Dauphine University and member of the Circle of Economists. With 10 million barrels released, the government expects the drop in diesel prices to last three months.

Machine-translated from French