Fuel prices in Morocco have recorded unprecedented spikes, while a greater rise is expected, as global oil prices continue to rise.
Moroccan families are facing a wave of high prices and weak purchasing power, with the continuous increase in the prices of many imported goods recently.
The price of diesel for the first time exceeded 10 dirhams, and reached 10.20 dirhams, while the price of gasoline jumped to 12 dirhams.
This is the first time that the price of widely consumed diesel has exceeded the ceiling of 10 dirhams in the Moroccan market, since the decision to liberalize the prices of diesel and gasoline was taken by the previous government of Abdelilah Benkirane in 2015.
Fuel prices in Morocco
It is learned from the development of the prices of the two commodities since the beginning of January of this year, that the prices of diesel and gasoline, which were in the range of 8.80 dirhams and 9.60 dirhams, increased in the last ten and a half months by 1.20 dirhams and 2.40 dirhams.
The rise in diesel prices is because of the international market from which Moroccan distributors buy refined oil from after the closure of the country’s only refinery six years ago.
The price have moved from $417 per ton to more than $700, which is explained by the increase in demand due to the requirements of economic recovery in Western countries.
Fuel companies have always asserted that prices in the local market are determined on the basis of the price of refined oil, insurance and transportation, not to mention the internal tax on consumption and the value-added tax, which represents 40 percent of the total price.
The previous government had decided to guarantee a sufficient stock of refined oil, in anticipation of a price hike in the international market, in light of the plans for an economic take-off in the world after the Coronavirus crisis, which would negatively affect the energy bill, the trade balance deficit and the foreign exchange balance of the Kingdom.
