Warning for drivers before the May 1 mini-holiday: “We are not talking about an explosion, but something more treacherous”
The price of diesel could increase in the coming days up to 9.4 – 9.6 lei per liter, and some gas stations may temporarily run out of fuel stocks, against the backdrop of tensions on the international oil market, large price differences between networks and preventive supplies, warned the president of the Intelligent Energy Association (AEI), Dumitru Chisăliță, according to Agerpres.
“The May 1st holiday comes with price increases and potential local shortages, which must attract the vigilance of those leaving home. It's not a question of whether diesel will become more expensive, but how soon,” he said.
“The oil market has re-entered a risk zone, and the effects are already being felt in the pockets of Romanian drivers. The barrel of Brent crude oil is hanging around $110, pushed up not by a booming economy, but by instability and fear. The realistic range for the next few days – $106 to $116 – says everything. The market is no longer about balance, but about nerves. And nerves cost,” says the specialist in a analysis titled 'Diesel and gasoline rise again – Romania pays the bill for global tensions'.
“Direction is up”
According to him, although the price does not follow oil perfectly, “the direction is up”.
“With a current level of around 9.3 lei per liter, the next move is almost inevitable – diesel goes to 9.4 – 9.6 lei/l in just a few days. We are not talking about an explosion, but about something more treacherous, a slow, constant, almost daily increase in price,” stated Chisăliță.
In his opinion, there is also a better scenario. Thus, if external tensions suddenly ease and oil corrects, prices could stagnate or even fall slightly, but this scenario is becoming increasingly fragile.
“Much more realistic is the other scenario, a new escalation, a new panic in the market and diesel that pushes without hesitation towards 10 lei per liter. The psychological threshold is no longer a question of 'if', but of 'when'. The conclusion is simple and not at all comfortable: Romania does not control the price of fuel, it only collects it. And in the next week, the direction is only one – up”, added the AEI president.
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