Oil prices have been rising again lately and gasoline (petrol) prices at the pump have shot up as well. The Circle K stations sold off by Norway’s state oil company when it was still called Statoil set a new record this week, with a pump price of NOK 17.30 per liter.
That amounts to well over USD 8 per gallon, and would be much higher if the Norwegian krone wasn’t so weak. It currently costs around NOK 8.60 to buy one US dollar, compared to NOK 6-7 in earlier years.
The petrol station dealers blame major increases in their own purchase prices for gasoline in recent weeks. Diesel prices are also up, but NOK 15.99 per liter is still a bit less than the record set in November last year.
Norway’s North Sea crude oil has been selling at more than USD 75 a barrel this past week, largely because of US sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, unrest in Libya and a production cut among OPEC members. That’s resulted in an oil price hike of nearly 39 percent since New Year.
newsinenglish.no staff
