Price of basic petrol crosses EUR 1.50 threshold in south of Finland

EUR 1.60/litre for 95E unleaded imminent further north

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The most popular grade of motor fuel in Finland, 95 octane unleaded petrol, exceeded the EUR 1.55 threshold at many manned filling stations in densely-populated areas of the south of Finland.
      At petrol pumps in areas where transport distances are longer, the next limit is about to be broken. In Inari, for instance, a litre of 95-octane petrol cost EUR 1.599, and even in Mikkeli, it was EUR 1.597 a litre.
      On Monday, the polttoaine.net website reported that the most expensive fuel in the Helsinki region was available at the Neste station in Mankki in Espoo. Polttoaine.net lists current prices at petrol stations around Finland, based on reports by individual motorists.
     
On Monday afternoon, Peter Jansson drove to the pump and placidly filled the tank of his Mazda with fuel costing EUR 1.529 a litre.
      “I often fill up here because I work nearby. It is certainly expensive, but fortunately I have a company car. I drive 30-40,000 kilometres a year, of which 90 per cent is work-related”, Jansson says.
      He does not shop around for lower petrol prices, but he has decided that his next company car will have a diesel engine.
     
In Europe the rising trend is mitigated by the fact that the US dollar, which is the currency in which crude oil is quoted, has been declining in value. Largely for that reason, petrol in Finland costs only ten per cent more than it did two years ago.
      Arvo Ruotsalainen, manager of transport services at Neste Oil, says that petrol would cost 15 cents a litre more than it does now if the exchange rate of the euro were 1.30 US dollars.
      The main reason for the new peak in prices stems from the rising trend in the dollar, which began about two weeks ago. However, on Monday the dollar dropped again, so that one euro was worth USD 1.55.


Links:
  Polttoaine.net (in Finnish; figures indicate that 95E was being sold in Utsjoki for over EUR 1.60/litre on Monday)

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