UAE reveals fuel prices for February

Petrol prices in the UAE will remain unchanged for the 11th consecutive month in February although diesel rates have been cut, the UAE Fuel Price Follow-up Committee has announced.

Fuel prices per litre for the next month are as follows:

Special (95): Dhs1.80
Super (98): Dhs1.91
E-Plus: Dhs1.72

However, the price for diesel has been reduced to Dhs2.01 a litre compared to Dhs2.06 in January.

February fuel ⛽ prices as per the #UAE fuel committee are out. #InspiringEnergy pic.twitter.com/3kxkgk4XEu

— ENOC (@enoc_official) January 30, 2021

The prices in the UAE are adjusted to international oil prices, which remain volatile.

Oil edged lower on Friday alongside a broader market decline as the recovery in consumption remains uncertain.

Brent for April settlement lost 6 cents to $55.04 a barrel. The March contract, which expires Friday, increased 35 cents to $55.88 a barrel.

But while headline prices have been treading water, the futures curve is pointing to a more balanced market as OPEC+ output curbs and restrained US shale production help further draw down inventories accumulated during the pandemic.

The nearest contracts for both Brent and West Texas Intermediate have moved further into a premium relative to the next month, a pattern known as backwardation that signals tighter supplies and strong demand.

At the same time, low processing rates from refiners are keeping fuel supplies more or less in check. The incentive for processing a barrel of oil is growing, with the combined refining margin of gasoline and diesel back near levels last seen in May.

Once vaccines are widely distributed, “we’re probably going to have the biggest surge in demand ever, at least year-over-year, and we’re not going to get the supply response we normally got” from US shale producers, said Jay Hatfield, CEO at InfraCap in New York. “So price is going to have to be the moderating variable.”

With inputs from Bloomberg