Even though the price of oil has plummeted, motorists in Norway aren’t getting any relief at the gasoline station. Prices have topped NOK 16 per liter during the past week (around USD 8.50 a gallon), making gasoline in oil-producing Norway the most expensive in Europe.
Taxes account for fully 60 percent of pump prices in Norway, so the actual price of oil doesn’t affect gasoline prices to the same degree as in lower-tax countries. Meanwhile, refinery strikes in the US have prompted the US to import gasoline, leaving Norway and the rest of Europe with less supply. That has contributed to pump prices going up in recent weeks.
They dipped last winter to just below NOK 14 but since then, oil prices have edged back up as well. Finance Minister Siv Jensen, who hails from a conservative, anti-tax party that has fought for years to lower gasoline prices in Norway, hasn’t had enough support from government colleagues to lower gas taxes. She noted, though, that taxes were not “adjusted” (increased) this year like they usually are. Norwegian drivers were warned to get used to the higher prices, which also are affected by the weaker Norwegian krone.
newsinenglish.no staff
