Fuel prices continue to drop but vary greatly in different regions
The retail prices of gasoline and diesel in the Czech Republic have continued to decline over the past few weeks, driven mainly by falling prices of crude oil on the world markets. However, the prices differ dramatically at different gas stations, with some retailers refusing to bring the prices down.
Analysts say the continuing decline is owed to large excess volumes of crude oil on the world markets which is likely to increase. Boris Tomčiak, an analyst for the Prague-based stock trading firm Colosseum, told the news agency ČTK that as a result, the price of petrol at the Rotterdam fuel exchange had taken an 11-percent dive over the previous week while diesel prices declined by 7 percent.
“This development is very good for consumers”, Mr Tomčiak was quoted as saying. “Next week, we are expecting prices to continue to go down, with an average drop of around 0.50 crowns per litre,” the analyst said.
However, prices at individual gas stations vary greatly, the news website novinky.cz reports. At some stations, petrol prices dropped below 30 crowns per litre while others keep the prices unchanged.
“This is because retailers stock on fuel; some of them have sold their out and are now selling new fuel at lower prices while others are trying to sell the rest of their stock at higher prices,” Mr Tomčiak said, adding that he expected all gas stations to lower their prices in the coming weeks.
The cheapest petrol – below 34 crowns per litre – is sold in the Pardubice region while some gas stations in the neighbouring Hradec Králové region are offering the cheapest diesel, at around 33.50 crowns per litre. The highest prices of fuel have been registered in Prague where a litre of petrol is now sold at more than 35.70 crowns.
