Fuel price reduction proves that we’re making a difference – PN

The government’s announcement that fuel prices will go down by 4c is a confirmation that the Opposition is making a difference in people’s lives, the Nationalist Party said in a statement.

“Until a few days ago, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi kept insisting that the prices of petrol and diesel in Malta were justifiable, despite Malta’s fuel prices being amongst the highest in Europe,” the PN said in a statement. “After the Opposition put pressure on the government to reduce fuel prices to levels that families and businesses in other EU countries are enjoying, the government had no other choice but to reduce those prices.

“This confirms that the Opposition had and still has a point and that the government was being dishonest when it said that it couldn’t reduce fuel prices.”

As of Monday, petrol prices will be reduced from €1.42 to €1.38 while diesel prices will be reduced from €1.35 to €1.31 per litre. Further reductions will be announced over the coming months.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said that Enemed closed a number of deals on both fuel and currency prices which made the seventh reduction in this legislature possible. The reductions will come into effect before a number of previous hedging agreements come to an end: "This means that the consumers will benefit ahead of the cheaper prices before the new agreements come into force."

Due to commercially sensitive information, and because the domestic fuel market is liberalized, the minister would not say what the ultimate reduction in prices will be. "All I can say at this stage is that the prices will be significantly cheaper," Mizzi said.

However, the Opposition reiterated its belief that a 4c reduction is not enough.

“We will continue insisting that the government reduce prices substantially so that prices in Malta reflect the drastic plummet in the global price of oil, just as what is happening in other EU countries.

“As of tomorrow, Malta will have the fourth highest fuel prices in Europe, which is definitely not something to boast about.”