Fuels, Antitrust beacon on maxi price increases

These are the averages of the prices applied communicated by the operators to the Price Observatory of the Ministry of Economic Development and elaborated by the Staffetta, recorded at 8 am on Monday 9 January on about 15,000 plants: self-service petrol at 1.819 euro/litre (-1 thousandth, companies 1.821, white pumps 1.815), diesel at 1.876 euro/litre (-2, companies 1.878, white pumps 1.873).

Petrol served at 1.960 euro/litre (unchanged, companies 2.003, white pumps 1.875), diesel at 2.017 euro/litre (-1, companies 2.061, white pumps 1.932). LPG served at 0.790 euro/litre (-1, companies 0.801, white pumps 0.777), methane served at 2.324 euro/kg (-7, companies 2.359, white pumps 2.297), LNG 2.553 euro/kg (+5, companies 2.584 euro /kg, white pumps 2,532 euro/kg).

These are the prices on the motorways: self-service petrol 1.911 euro/litre (served 2.169), self-service diesel 1.962 euro/litre (served 2.221), LPG 0.898 euro/litre, methane 2.531 euro/kg, LNG 2.547 euro/kg. These are the prices of refined products in the Mediterranean at the end of Monday 9 January: petrol at 548 euros per thousand liters (-6 rounded values), diesel at 686 euros per thousand liters (-15 rounded values). These are the values ​​inclusive of excise duty: petrol at 1276.51 euros per thousand litres, diesel at 1316.76 euros per thousand litres.

Antitrust requests documentation from the GdF

Meanwhile, the president of the Competition and Market Authority, Roberto Rustichelli, wrote to the Commander General of the Guardia di Finanza, Giuseppe Zafarana, asking for the collaboration of the Corps in order to acquire the documentation relating to the recent checks carried out on fuel prices, with particular reference to the violations ascertained. This can be read in a note from the Antitrust which will analyze whether or not there have been unfair commercial practices and violations of competition.

The protest of buses and public transport: accounts out of control

And in the meantime, the road passenger transport associations are descending on a war footing. “The out-of-control diesel price risks having a disruptive impact on the services provided by the bus passenger transport company, both LPT and rental and line transport not subject to public service obligations”, they write in a joint note Agents, Anav, Asstra representing the entire industry. «The market reaction to the failure to extend the cut in excise duties on diesel to 2023 – underline the associations – went well beyond the mere recovery of the 15 cents per liter of tax savings ensured so far by Government interventions. The price is out of control with peaks exceeding 2 euros per litre, unsustainable for a sector such as passenger transport which has a fleet of buses powered by more than 90% diesel which, not surprisingly, represents the main cost item after for the staff”. The associations then recall the numbers of a strategic sector for the economy and for the mobility of citizens and which has about 6,000 companies spread throughout the national territory, with over 110,000 employees and 70,000 buses. The request to the government is to also include this sector in the fuel benefits reserved for road haulage. «It is necessary if not to reset,
at least mitigate the dynamics of cost increases and the pressure on
corporate accounts,” they conclude.