FLASH
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The price of oil in foreign markets has decreased by 20% compared to last year. But according to the Bank of Albania, this significant decrease has not been reflected in the Albanian market. Data processed by Report TV shows that the price of oil in the country has decreased by only 6 percent, although the lek has gained significantly against the dollar.
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In April of this year, the price of oil in Albania marked its latest recorded decrease, dropping to 173 lek from the level of 175 lek, where it had remained unchanged for 6 months (since October 2024). A decrease of only 1.2 percent.
Bank of Albania data show that compared to the first quarter of the year alone, in the April-June period, oil prices in international markets decreased by 10.4 percent.
"Fuel prices during this quarter, especially in May, EU countries experienced a significant decline, a movement that was not reflected in the domestic market. The global oil market was characterized by slow demand and high supply, dynamics that translated into lower prices. On the other hand, the continued presence of trade tensions from the world's largest economies contributed to the slowdown in the downward rate of oil prices during this quarter," the Bank of Albania report states.
Compared to the second quarter of last year, the drop in oil prices on world markets has been even deeper, according to the bank.
"The Brent oil price was quoted at an average of $67.8 per barrel during the second quarter of 2025, a price about 20.1% lower than a year earlier," the report said.
In Albania, in June last year, oil was sold for 184 lek per liter. The annual difference compared to this year is -11 lek or only 6% cheaper.
Even the reference indicator for refined oil, Platts, according to which companies import to Albania, confirms the significant drop in prices in foreign markets.
Data collected by Report TV shows an average annual decrease in the second quarter of approximately 15 percent in the price at which oil was purchased abroad.
From $830 per ton of oil in April 2024, it dropped to $626 on April 2 this year.
Last year's May started at $751 per ton, this year it was $690.
Whereas last June it was $772/ton, while this year it is $705. So even though the price difference is high, in Albania the reflection of the lower price is minimal.
But besides stock market fluctuations, another factor that should have been reflected in retail prices in Albania is the depreciation of the dollar.
Compared to June 2024, the US dollar, the currency used to purchase oil, has depreciated by 10%, from 94 lek to 84 lek this June.
So, traders are spending 10% less to import oil from abroad, and if only this contraction in the dollar had been reflected in the price of fuel, it should have been much cheaper.
In the price structure at which fuels are traded, 103.4 lek are taxes and 69.6 lek are the real price of oil.
The latter should have at least reflected the decline in refined oil and the depreciation of the dollar.
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced in July that he is working to make the state itself part of the oil import market in foreign markets, with the aim of reducing the price for Albanian citizens, and to create the State Oil Reserve through Albpetrol.
REFINED OIL REFERENCE
APRIL 2, 2025 $626/Ton- APRIL 2, 2024 $830/Ton
MAY 1, 2025 $690/Ton- MAY 2, 2024 $751/Ton
JUNE 26, 2025 $705/Ton- JUNE 26, 2024 $772/Ton
PRICE AND TAXES ON 1 LITER OF FUEL
Oil price, 173 lek/liter
VAT, 34.6 lek/liter
Excise duty, 38.8 lek/liter
Circulation tax, 27 lek/liter
Carbon tax, 3 lek/liter
The price of diesel without taxes, 69.6 lek/liter
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