“Fuel prices can fall by 10%, but only under one condition” – Omelchenko
11 April 15:10
OPINION
Oil prices have been falling for the second week in a row due to fears that the protracted trade war between the United States and China will lead to a reduction in economic growth and lower consumption of raw materials.
Brentis expected to fall by 3.2% and WTI by 2.9% this week. Last week, both benchmarks fell by 11%.
It would be logical to expect that gasoline prices would follow this trend and Ukrainian drivers would see lower price tags at gas stations.
However, this has not happened yet. According to the Ministry of Finance, from April 1 to April 11, gasoline prices in Ukraine only went up: A95 rose by 20 kopecks, while A92 went up by almost a full hryvnia. Only A92 remained unchanged in price.
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Will fuel become cheaper?
Komersant ukrainskyi asked energy expert Volodymyr Omelchenko why domestic gas stations do not offer customers fuel at lower prices and whether we should expect a corresponding correlation in the near future. According to him, it is worth waiting.
“In principle, there are prerequisites for prices at Ukrainian gas stations to drop by about 10%. But this may happen a little later, in a few weeks, as there is a certain inertia in the process. After all, the stocks that were accumulated in the previous period are being sold at the old prices,”
– the expert comments.
Omelchenko believes that we can expect the price of motor fuel to drop in May.
“If oil prices do not increase, but remain at this level, around $64-65, then there are reasons to expect a decrease in fuel prices,”
– he notes.
However, according to the expert, the Ukrainian market has its own peculiarities, and an important additional factor, namely the Antimonopoly Committee, must work to reduce fuel prices in Ukraine.
“The Antimonopoly Committee also needs to work effectively. It needs to make sure that no monopoly collusion takes place in the market. Since our market is quite monopolized, it has been captured by just a few companies,”
– emphasizes Volodymyr Omelchenko.
Thus, lower oil prices may be reflected in the price tags of Ukrainian gas stations around May. If this does not happen (assuming no rise in oil prices), the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has failed to fulfill its functions and prevent a cartel agreement in the fuel market.
