Domestic fuel prices continue to rise
- Details
- Category: Economic Releases
- Created: 19 June 2015
Retail fuel prices for all fuel types continued to increase over June. Looking forward, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga expects domestic fuel prices to rise again in mid-July 2015. Read the latest Fuel Prices Report for more details.
| Fuel Prices June 2015 |
Release date: 17 June 2015 |
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| $TOP | May 15 | Apr 15 | Mar 15 | Feb 15 |
| Petrol | 2.50 | 2.36 | 2.32 | 2.25 |
| Diesel | 2.43 | 2.32 | 2.30 | 2.30 |
| Kerosene | 1.84 | 1.73 | 1.70 | 1.74 |
| * Rounding errors may not show exact changes | ||||
Domestic fuel prices continue to rise
Retail prices for all fuel types continued to increase over June. Petrol prices increased by 14 seniti, Diesel prices by 11 seniti, and Kerosene prices by 11 seniti. These new price changes were higher than the monthly increase over May and became effective on Tuesday, 16th June 2015. The rise in domestic fuel prices reflects the 11.7% increase in Brent Crude Oil prices from April to May. Additionally, the statement released by the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism and Labour stated that the freight rate rose and the Tongan Pa’anga depreciated over May, further contributing to the increase in domestic prices. This movement in fuel prices equate roughly to a 0.3 percentage point addition to the monthly inflation.
However, over the year, domestic fuel prices were lower than June 2014. Specifically, Petrol prices had decreased by 38 seniti, Diesel by 49 seniti, and Kerosene by 44 seniti. The decline in year-ended prices was driven by the weak global oil prices. This equates roughly to a 0.8 percentage point subtraction from the annual headline inflation.
Looking forward, NRBT expects domestic fuel prices to rise again in mid-July 2015. According to Reuters, analysts predict prices will resume to normal by second half of the year. However, there is an expected recovery in U.S. production and the chance of extra Iranian volumes hitting the market which will keep prices under pressure. Reuters has kept its forecast of Brent oil price for 2016 relatively stable at US$70.90 up from the current level of US$64. However, the movement of global oil prices remain uncertain due to conflicting expectations for production and the high supply of product stocks.
| Fuel Prices | ||||||
| As at mid-month ($T/litre) | Year-ended growth ^ (%) | |||||
| Jun 15 | May 15 | Apr 15 | Jun 14 | Jun 15 | Jun 14 | |
| Petrol | 2.50 | 2.36 | 2.32 | 2.89 | -11.95 | 1.95 |
| Diesel | 2.43 | 2.32 | 2.30 | 2.92 | -13.40 | 2.09 |
| Kerosene | 1.84 | 1.73 | 1.70 | 2.28 | -14.74 | 2.49 |
| World oil price * | 126.58 | 131.22 | 112.83 | 199.91 | -25.91 | 6.28 |
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* Converted to TOP, per barrel Please note: rounding errorsmay not show exact changes |
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Download a copy of the latest Fuel Prices Report for more details.
