UAE raises April petrol, diesel prices

[DUBAI] The United Arab Emirates will raise domestic prices for petrol and diesel in April after global oil prices increased, the ministry of energy said on Monday.

The price of a litre of octane 95 petrol will rise to 1.51 dirhams (41 US cents) at the start of next month from 1.36 dirhams. The domestic diesel price will increase to 1.56 dirhams from 1.40 dirhams.

Last July, the UAE said it was shifting from a system of fixed, subsidised fuel prices to adjusting prices monthly in response to global trends.

It did not reveal details of its new formula nor say whether subsidies would be removed entirely, but announced that fuel prices would be "based on the average global prices with the addition of operating costs".

Oil prices are about 50 per cent higher than multi-year lows hit in January due to worries about an oversupply of crude.

REUTERS