The price of petrol in the Netherlands has risen sharply this year. Anyone who now fills up a liter of E10 (Euro95) has lost about 40 euro cents more than at the beginning of 2021. Due to concerns about the new omikron variant of the corona virus, global oil prices have recently fallen below their peak level in October, but the Dutch suggested retail price for petrol seems to end the year well above 2 euros per liter.
According to consumer collective UnitedConsumers, which monitors recommended prices of five major oil companies on a daily basis, the average recommended price on Monday is more than 2,08 euros per liter. At the beginning of this year this was still about 1,68 euros. The highest level was reached on November 18, when the liter price peaked at a record EUR 2,145. The prices of LPG and diesel also went to unprecedented levels this year.
Pump holders can deviate from the suggested retail prices. Motorists usually pay the most at gas stations along the highway. According to price comparator fuel-finder.nl, it is still possible to refuel E10 around 1,80 euros per liter at various cheap pumps in the north of the country.
Corona crisis
Market expert Paul van Selms of UnitedConsumers already indicated at the end of last month that the Netherlands will probably be stuck with petrol prices around 2 euros per liter for a longer period of time. He pointed out that the situation in the oil markets had not really changed structurally after the initial shock from the discovery of omikron.
While the global economy is recovering from the corona crisis, the demand for oil is increasing at a rapid pace. But the capacity of oil producers has lagged. Another factor is that the large oil-producing countries of oil cartel OPEC and ally Russia are willing to open the oil tap considerably extra. Increasing production is done very carefully and every limited production increase is discussed at length.
Brent oil, the benchmark for oil from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, currently trades at nearly $79 a barrel. The highest price this year was just under $87 per barrel and was registered on October 25. At the beginning of 2021, the price of Brent oil was still around USD 51 per barrel.
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