Estonian fuel sellers lower prices at the pump

TALLINN - Fuel retailers Circle K and Neste lowered the prices of both gasoline and diesel fuel on Thursday at their service stations across Estonia, following a drop in fuel prices announced by fuel seller Terminal Oil earlier on the same day.

The new retail price of 95 octane gasoline is 2.049 euros per liter and the price of diesel 1.949 euros per liter, according to Circle K. The price of 98 octane gasoline is 2.099 euros per liter, Terminal Oil said.

At Neste service stations gasoline prices dropped by 7 cents per liter and diesel fuel prices by 5 cents per liter, Neste's marketing and communication manager Risto Sulluste told BNS.

"As prices in the global market have turned to decline, we can also lower the prices of motor fuel and diesel at all service stations in Estonia. At the same time, the situation remains turbulent in the global market and we cannot predict for how long the decline will last," Indrek Sassi, head of motor fuel pricing at Circle K Estonia, said in a press release. He added that there are analysts who estimate that crude oil will become three times more expensive in the near future as well as those who believe that the price will drop to 65 US dollars per barrel.

"If the downward trend continues, it will also definitely be reflected in the prices at our filling stations," Neste's Sulluste noted.

The drop in global prices that began on Wednesday is mainly attributable to a fear of an economic recession, which has reduced demand and brought down input prices.

"That, in turn, reduces the risk of a possible deficit in oil products. With central banks aggressively increasing interest rates and China's strict COVID policy and its impact on demand added into the mix, global crude oil prices have turned to decline," Sassi noted.

Circle K Eesti underlined that the company does not buy, sell or mediate motor gasoline or diesel fuel from Belarus or Russia. Instead, the fuel retailer buys all its motor gasoline and diesel fuel directly from refineries located in the European Union.