Fuel prices have been announced for January 2017. Pawan Singh / The National

UAE petrol prices for January 2017 to rise

Petrol and diesel prices will rise in January by 6.1 to 7.1 per cent for all grades of the fuel.

The Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday that motorists will pay Dh1.91 a litre for Super 98, up by 6.1 per cent from December; Special 95 will cost Dh1.80, up 6.5 per cent, and E Plus will cost Dh1.73, up 6.7 per cent. Diesel will cost Dh1.94, up 7.1 per cent.

For December, Super 98 had been priced at Dh1.80 a litre, Special 95 at Dh1.69 and E Plus was Dh1.62. Diesel cost Dh1.81.

Brent crude was trading on Wednesday at US$56.44 a barrel. That brought the commodity’s month-to-date gain to 4.6 per cent and its year-to-date gain to 51.6 per cent.

Fuel prices have fluctuated at the pump since January.

At the start of 2016, Super 98 was priced at Dh1.69 per litre, Special 95 at Dh1.58 and E Plus at Dh1.51. Diesel was Dh1.61. The petrol prices continued to fall in February and March, when the year’s lowest prices were recorded. Diesel fell in February before rising slightly in March.

In March, a litre of Super 98 cost Dh1.47, Special 95 Dh1.36 and E Plus Dh1.29. Diesel was Dh1.40.

Fuel prices are set by a Ministry of Energy-led committee using "benchmark prices", which they have not yet disclosed to the public.

However, their price changes seem to be tracking fairly closely those for wholesale diesel and petrol shipments from Singapore refineries bound for Arabian Gulf destinations, as set by Platts, a widely used oil market pricing agency.