There has been a rapid increase in the cost of motor fuel and home heating oil due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Consumers have been reporting higher forecourt prices and quotes for kerosene deliveries across Ireland, reports RTE.
The surge follows the spike in global oil prices after unrest erupted in the Arabian Gulf.
The price of home heating oil in Ireland has risen sharply, reports RTE.
According to the price comparison site Oilprices.ie, the average cost for 500 litres of kerosene has climbed from just under €500 last week to over €750 today.
This rise—from €494.59 to €761.46 in one week—represents an increase of more than 50%, reports RTE.
Pump prices have also jumped in recent days.
In some cases, rates are reported to have risen by between 5 cent and 10 cent per litre, with many operators now charging more than €1.80 per litre for unleaded petrol and diesel, reports RTE.
The Chief Executive of Fuels for Ireland, representing firms involved in importing, distributing, and marketing oil products, described claims of price gouging as “simply false,” reports RTE.
Kevin McPartland said it is “entirely possible that prices rise very rapidly to a very high level, that people are hurting by them, that they’re annoyed at the high price, and for it not to be a result of price gouging,” he said, reports RTE.
“In this instance, this is verifiable,” he added, reports RTE.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Mr McPartland said there are “publicly available data sets that show the wholesale cost of refined products like petrol, diesel and gas and you can go online and you can see them, and the increases that we’ve seen at a retail level for home heating oil and for road transport fuel over the last few days, absolutely map that data,” reports RTE.
He insisted that there is “no question of price gouging,” reports RTE.
“And being perfectly frank, when the Government has talked about referring this to the CCPC, I really welcome that, because we need this to be verified. We need this to be shown to the public, that in actual fact people are just passing on the wholesale price that they’re paying, and it’s extremely difficult in the market right now to manage that,” reports RTE.
The Fuels for Ireland CEO said there have been incidents where workers in forecourts and depots are “being abused and insulted by customers,” reports RTE.
Asked if he had advice for consumers, Kevin McPartland urged people to “stay calm,” reports RTE.
“Part of the reason why there’s been a massive spike, particularly in home heating oil, is that people were rushing to order, who maybe have a few months stock in their tank at home. There’s no need,” he said, reports RTE.
“This is just as likely to come down in the next few weeks and certainly in the coming months as it is to go up. So really, don’t be ordering fuel that you don’t need right now, because it’s so volatile right now that’s feeding into the problem,” he added, reports RTE.
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