Despite the sharp collapse of oil which has depreciated by 18% in the last few hours following the truce announced by the American government, fuel prices continue to rise to the point that the average price of diesel is moving rapidly towards 2.2 euros per liter throughout Italy.
Codacons states this, based on regional data provided by Mimit. Today diesel fuel on the motorway reached an average of 2.191 euros per litre, while yesterday it was sold at 2.158 euros/litre; petrol rises to 1.825 euros per litre. On the ordinary network the price of diesel has already exceeded the psychological threshold of 2.2 euros per liter in Bolzano, where a liter of diesel costs 2.205 euros, and the highest prices are recorded today in Calabria with an average of 2.198 euros per litre, Lombardy with 2.195 euros, Valle d’Aosta with 2.194 euros, Sicily with 2.190 euros. Strong price increases at the pump which, underlines Codacons, are recorded despite the fact that oil prices have collapsed in recent hours. But the risk is now different – warns the association – If the downward race in oil continues as a result of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the truce reached between the United States and Iran, the prices of petrol and diesel at distributors will fall at a snail’s pace, with a double speed that will penalize motorists.
Fuels: consumers, leap in Sicily
Sicily is one of the regions in which the increase in diesel prices is most significant: this is stated by consumer associations.
The highest daily increase in diesel prices is on the island, where a 50-litre tank costs 2 euros and 45 cents more than yesterday, according to the National Consumers Union. «Diesel exceeds 2.2 euros per liter in Bolzano and Calabria and Lombardy are one step away from crossing that threshold», says Massimiliano Dona, president of the association. «According to the Mimit data just published – he explains – today the most expensive diesel is sold, in fact, in Bolzano with 2.205 euros per litre, Calabria in 2nd place with 2.198, bronze medal for Lombardy with 2.195 euros. Motorways, after the agreement with MIT, are only in fifth position. For petrol, however, the motorways win with 1.825 euros per litre. Then follows Bolzano with 1.822 euros per litre, bronze medal for Calabria with 1.811 euros. The biggest increase in Bolzano, where a refueling costs 80 cents more than yesterday.
According to Codacons’ daily processing of data released by Mimit, today in Sicily the average price of self-service diesel reaches 2.190 euros per litre, while self-service petrol stands at 1.811 euros per litre. Compared to yesterday, diesel increases by 4.9 cents per litre, going from 2.141 to 2.190 euros, while petrol increases by 0.8 cents per litre, from 1.803 to 1.811 euros. A leap that pushes Sicily among the most expensive regions in Italy in terms of diesel. «This is a very serious fact – states Francesco Tanasi, National Secretary of Codacons – because while oil declines, fuels incredibly continue to rise. Diesel has now reached just a hair’s breadth from 2.2 euros per liter and this means once again passing on increasingly heavy costs to families, workers and commuters.”
For Codacons, the issue «always remains the same: when international prices increase, increases at the pump start almost immediately; However, when oil prices drop, reductions for motorists arrive extremely slowly. The truce between the United States and Iran and the reopening of Hormuz have in fact coincided with a drop in crude oil, but this dynamic is not yet reflected in the prices charged to distributors”. «The concrete risk – continues Tanasi – is that a double speed will once again occur to the detriment of motorists: the increases arrive immediately, while the reductions proceed slowly. It is a dynamic that consumers know well and which can no longer be accepted. It is unacceptable that, despite the drop in oil prices, Sicilian motorists continue to pay ever higher prices. We need controls, transparency and decisive intervention to prevent citizens from being penalized once again.”