Fuel prices rose in first six months

In the first half of this year, average retail prices of gasoline and diesel fuel rose on the same period last year by 17.3% to 15.29 lei/l and 24.7% to 14.30 lei/l, respectively. The retail price of liquefied gas rose by 11.8% to 7.38 lei/l, the National Energy Regulatory Agency reported in a press release. The Agency attributes the increases to higher import prices which, in turn, was due to higher oil prices on global markets. In January – June 2011, the average price of Brent oil rose on the similar period last year by 40.9% to $110.9 a barrel, and average Platt's prices of gasoline and petrodiesel rose by 37% to $989.21 a tonne and by 45% to $958.2 a tonne, respectively. However this didn't result in a reduction in imported amounts. On the contrary, gasoline imports rose by 5.5% and petrodiesel imports by 27.5%. Romania accounts for the largest shares of imports, 63.3% and 53%, respectively.