Rabat – Gasoline prices in Morocco are rising again, likely due to the sudden increase of crude oil barrels in the global market.
As of Tuesday, May 17, one liter of gasoline was worth MAD 15.47 ($1.54), while one liter of diesel cost MAD 14.60 ($1.46).
Gasoline prices increased by an average of MAD 1.08 ($0.11), while diesel prices increased by diesel 0.28 ($0.028).
Moroccan news agencies reported that the increase in petrol has angered some car and truck drivers in Casablanca.
According to several Moroccan journals, fuel prices in other parts of the country are higher than in Casablanca.
Due to the liberalization of oil prices by the Moroccan government in December 2014, the prices of the energy source usually rise or decrease depending on global markets.
Read also: Morocco’s Oil Reserves Dwindle
According to the Oil Price database, as of Wednesday, May 18, 2022, the global price of one barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude oil stands at $113.63 (MAD 1139.20). Whereas, one barrel of British Brent Crude oil is now worth $112.80 (MAD 1130.88), according to the same source.
Since the global market was hit hard by the Russia-Ukraine crisis amid earlier disruptions to supply chains, Morocco has felt the repercussions. These consequences ranged from a severe lack of natural gas and oil supplies, and a sharp rise in demand for the energy sources.
Global oil prices reached $100 (MAD 1002) on February 24, for the first time since 2014. This sharp increase was registered only four days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 28.
Soon after the crisis began, the world felt the additional economic repercussions of the war when the global price of a barrel of crude oil barrel peaked at $128.26 (MAD 1,285.87) on March 8. This number came close to the highest recorded price per barrel in history, which was $147.02 (MAD 1,473.95) on July 11, 2008, according to data from Macro Trends.
