Despite the decline in Brent oil, fuel price increases accelerated again

Despite the fact that crude oil prices have been falling for four weeks due to the interest rate hikes in many countries, fuel price hikes in Turkey have accelerated again. While discounts were expected in gasoline and diesel, on the contrary, gasoline and diesel prices increased in the last three days.

EXCHANGE RATE HIT

On the night that connects October 4 to October 5, gasoline prices increased by 62 cents and diesel prices increased by 1.10 TL. Then, as of Thursday, October 6, 74 cents increased for gasoline and 1 lira and 39 cents for diesel. Finally, as of October 7, another price hike of 1 lira and 53 cents for diesel was announced.

Domestic fuel prices are determined according to the global price change in oil and the change in dollar/TL. Oil prices fell sharply in September, but there was no reduction in fuel prices as the dollar exchange rate broke a record in the same period.

On September 14, while the price of brent oil was 93 dollars, diesel was sold for 24 liras. Although the price of Brent oil is the same, on October 6, a liter of diesel was sold in Istanbul for 25.56 lira, and today this price will be 27.03 lira. A liter of gasoline will be sold for 20.6 liras today.

Stating that the depreciation in TL had a great effect on these increases, Prof. Dr. Hayri Kozanoğlu made the following assessment:

“Fuel prices are directly related to prices in Genoa and the dollar. Despite the fact that the price of brent oil did not increase much, with the TL depreciating by 2.5 percent in the last month, our fuel price increased. In other words, we can say that the dollar hit the exchange rate.”

Kozanoğlu said that price hikes may continue depending on the weather conditions in winter, adding that these hikes will directly increase input costs for many products and a winter will be experienced with high inflation.

FEAR OF OCTOBER

The situation in agriculture, which is one of the sectors most affected by diesel price hikes, is dire. Hüseyin Demirtaş, President of the Agriculturalists Association of Turkey, said that the farmer is in the planting period these days and that these hikes hit the farmer before the crop is planted, on the days when he uses fuel the most. Demirtaş said, “If the costs continue like this, don’t be surprised if you see tomatoes for 50 liras in winter.”

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