"The cost of diesel at Polish stations, excluding taxes, is higher than in 20 EU countries. The European Commission's weekly data once again clearly indicated that retail fuel prices in Poland are falling exceptionally slowly," writes Marcin Lipka, Conotoxia Senior Analyst.
Petrol quotations on the ARA market (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp), which are a marker of prices for European refineries, have been moving in a narrow fluctuation range from 1.40 to 1.46 PLN per litre since November 23rd. This is about 0.60 PLN less than the average price of this fuel between August and the beginning of October this year.
The price of diesel on ARA has slightly increased, but for 10 days it has been moving in the range of 1.82-1.88 PLN, i.e. about 0.35 PLN less than in September and 0.45 PLN less than in October this year. What is happening in the retail market in Europe?
In Europe, prices go down sharply. In Poland, prices slightly fall
The latest data from the European Commission (EC) on prices from December 3rd showed that the cost of refuelling unleaded petrol in the EU has fallen by 8.2 cents (0.35 PLN) over a month. In Poland, this decrease was minor and amounted to 3.3 euro cent (0.14 PLN). According to the European Commission, unleaded petrol in Poland costs on average 4.91 PLN/litre.
Fuel prices are falling much faster than the EU average in some regions. In Hungary, in over a month the price of unleaded petrol decreased by 11.7 euro cents, i.e. by 0.50 PLN, with a litre costing 1.1 euro (4.73 PLN). This is over 0.20 PLN less than in Poland, which is interesting especially because taxes in Hungary are higher.
In Bulgaria, the drop in the popular 95 prices was even more profound and amounted to 15.4 euro cent (0.66 PLN) in the last month. There, fuel costs 4.42 PLN/litre. After excluding taxes and retail margin, the price of petrol in Poland is slightly higher than the weighted average in the EU, which amounts to 0.542 euro cents (2.32 PLN). This is worrying, considering the fact that the majority of crude oil is supplied to Poland via pipelines, and the distances from refineries to final consumers are not particularly long. In addition, labour costs in Poland are significantly lower than the EU average.
Diesel is more expensive in Poland than in 20 EU countries
Even more disturbing is the correlation between changing diesel prices. In Poland, they fell by 1.3 euro cents (less than 0.06 PLN) over one month, while in the EU by 6.8 euro cents, and in the eurozone by more than 7 euro cents (0.31 PLN) per litre.
In detail, diesel oil costs 1.21 EUR (5.20 PLN/litre) in Poland. This is more expensive than in Bulgaria (1.14 EUR), Lithuania (1.15 EUR), Luxembourg (1.1 EUR), Romania (1.2 EUR) and Spain (1.19 EUR). In many countries, prices are also similar to those of Poland, despite significantly higher fiscal burdens. However, it is worth noting that disturbances in the diesel market can be easily observed when the prices, excluding taxes, are checked. They show how effectively (or not) the fuel distribution and sales system and competition between retailers work.
According to EC data, a litre of diesel excluding taxes costs 0.644 euro cents (2.77 PLN) in Poland. This is much more than the weighted average price in the EU (0.629 euro cent), but also more than in the eurozone, where the average is 0.628 euro cent. As many as 20 out of 28 EU countries have a lower price of diesel than Poland after excluding taxes.
