29/09/2004 00:00
TW
0
Staff Reporter SERVICE stations in the Balearics will put up the prices of all types of petrol and diesel oil at the end of this week. According to Jesús Salas, Service Stations Association president yesterday, the move comes as a result of the upsurge in the cost of a barrel of crude oil which reached a new record on the London market and topped the 46.4 dollar mark.


The increase in tariffs will be especially noticeable in diesel oil, which registered a “sharp growth” in its prices, practically equalling those of petrol. The trend is compounded by the arrival of winter, when consumption is higher in a country where fuel products are in short supply.

In the Balearics, the current average price of diesel oil stands at 0.813 cents per litre, while that of “95” petrol is 0.906 cents, and that of “97” petrol, 0.978 cents.

The association president pointed out that the price of a barrel of crude “Brent” on the London market has gone from 27 to 46 dollars within the space of a year. “Now, we are at the same stage as in July this year, at the maximum, but the petrol companies didn't put up their prices at that point. Now yes, there are some which are doing it and there are going to be some heavy increases this very week”, he explained.

Separately, Gabriel Moragues, head of the Taxi Driver Association, part of the small and medium-sized business organisation, PIMEM, signalled that this new upsurge in fuel prices will inevitably mean higher taxi fares.