Fuel at 3 euros per liter until the end of the year?

A few months ago, some of the world’s top fuel officials said it wouldn’t be at all strange to see the price of petrol and diesel reach or even exceed 3 euros per liter.

Something that was considered overkill at the time, and that is right now, it could well be. But let’s look with our eyes to see the situation at hand.

During the spring and summer of 2022, it ended in a calm, and the barrel of oil settled again at more attractive prices, more similar to those we can find on international markets, in pre-war times.

However, with the end of the heat and gas shortage period, it is very likely that things will get a lot worse by the end of the year. Because with the arrival of the cold in Europe, and without Russian gas to heat many countries that depend on this type of raw material, we will see a very large increase in the consumption of diesel, which, of course, comes from oil.

In addition to this fact, some agreements are concluded, already in October, which will lead to an immediate increase in the price of BRENT, and this has already led to a significant increase in fuel prices in Portugal.

Fuel at 3 euros per liter until the end of the year?

So, have you been enjoying these last few weeks of low prices in the fuel world? Well, we have bad news, going forward, it’s very likely that several weeks of dizzying price hikes will follow, starting next Monday, in case you didn’t know, diesel will cost 12 cents a liter, with gasoline following the trend. More closely, which makes it 10 cents more expensive, also per liter.

However, while the good guys are very likely to point their fingers at Portuguese government taxes (which rose again last Tuesday) and, of course, the high price of a barrel of oil on international markets, there are other moves behind the scenes. It should be highlighted.

After all, in case you didn’t know, OPEC+ decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. The biggest cut since the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was stated by the Iranian Deputy Petroleum Minister at the conclusion of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conference. Where it is obvious we can find many producing countries, such as Mexico, Iran, Kazakhstan and of course Russia.

After all, the cut was already expected, justified by a sharp drop in oil prices on international markets. It is a meaningless justification, because even at $90 they are “high” prices, and this still puts a lot of pressure on residents of non-producing countries, since of course we have to include Portugal. In short, this reduction increases the prices paid to OPEC, at an already complex time, for the reasons mentioned above.

In short, maybe it’s an exaggeration to talk about 3 euros per liter, but things will get more complicated, a lot, until the end of the year, well … it’s a hypothesis and not just a hypothesis. Get ready for serious increases in the near future. Not only in fuel (!), because this will put pressure on interest rates, and the value of currencies in the markets.