Fuel: with the end of discounts, gas station prices rise

The scissor effect is impressive. While the price of a barrel of Brent oil is falling (around $80 or €74.50), fuel prices at gas stations in France are skyrocketing. The explanation can be found on the side… the termination of discounts from the state (10 cents per liter) and from TotalEnergies (also 10 cents) from January 1, replaced by targeted assistance: a check for 100 euros paid to 10 million French people, the most modest, who need a car in order to commute to work.

The weekly average price thermometer published by the Ministry of Ecological Transition on Monday published data for the first week of the year: thus, a liter of diesel fuel last week averaged at 1.90 euros (+13.3 cents compared to the previous week). ) that a liter of SP95-E10 at 1.83 euros (+ 19.2 cents). Two significant increases while prices stabilized during the month.

Low consumption

Admittedly, some motorists have been able to avoid the increase in recent days by being far-sighted. “Overall fuel consumption was lower last week because many customers arranged to fill up before January 1st,” explains Francis Pousse, president of fuel distributors (excluding supermarkets) at the Mobilians automobile trade union.

However, one day or another, it will indeed be necessary to go to the checkout, and prices in supermarkets again become especially attractive in this new context. “Total Energies, appearing at about the same price as mass distribution, blurred the market,” Francis Puss deciphers. Now supermarkets are regaining their market share. »

If any of you have seen stations with empty SP95-E10 tanks in the Paris region and in the provinces, do not worry, there is no shortage. “We have the products,” we assure professionals. These were, oddly enough, “logistical difficulties.”

However, these new tariffs are stifling an association of 40 million motorists. “The government believes that the French are accustomed to prices around 2 euros for diesel and gasoline,” said Pierre Chasséret, general delegate of the association. But this is wrong! The reality is that motorists are being crushed by fuel prices and will not survive 2023 without tax relief. By the way, remember 2019 (the year of the yellow vests movement, which began in the fall) : pension reform and fuel in the region of 2 euros do not mix well. »

Superethanol E85 even crosses the 1 euro mark

Another noteworthy fact: at the beginning of the year, superethanol E85, the self-proclaimed fuel with “purchasing power”, significantly surpassed the symbolic bar of 1 euro per liter. Fixed between 0.8 cents/liter and 0.9 cents/liter for almost all of last year, here it is, in January 2023, at 1.08 euros/liter nationwide. “And even at some stations around 1.20 euros/l,” notes Pierre Chasséret.

Enough to flinch the 100,000 motorists who outfit themselves with a conversion box in 2022, or the 30,000 buyers of an original superethanol car. “The cost per liter remains attractive, but it is undeniable that those who have already equipped themselves will lose money compared to last year,” complain 40 million motorists.

Discussed? Prices for the gas required for the production of E85 superethanol were agreed – a year in advance – at the height of the Ukrainian crisis. “In addition, the proportion of gasoline in the E85 mixture is larger in winter to help the engine in cold weather, and this increases the overall cost,” emphasizes the oil company. Thus, the price of superethanol at a gas station should a priori decrease by about ten cents on sunny days.