Drop in gasoline prices brings relief to consumers

Following this reduction, the price at the pump of a liter (nearly a quarter gallon) of 95-octane unleaded gasoline in İstanbul and İzmir went down to TL 4.26 from TL 4.34 while it declined to TL 4.27 from TL 4.35 in Ankara. After the Kr 8 reduction, 97-octane unleaded gasoline, intended for vehicles with engines larger than 2000 cc, was being sold for TL 4.33 per liter.

The decision of the Energy Market Regulatory Agency (EPDK) was announced by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız on Tuesday following a fall in diesel prices by Kr 9-10 on the same day. “It's not just the fall in the price of crude oil. It's also the need to bring the drop in the price of gasoline in line with the fall in diesel,” Yıldız stated of the decision to drop gasoline prices.

Explaining why Turkish prices have not eased further while global crude oil has reached its lowest prices in eight months, Yıldız cited a strong dollar as the reason why the EPDK, which sets energy prices in Turkey, has not decreased fuel prices further.

Turkey's current account deficit (CAD) is driven by the country's ballooning demand for energy from abroad, which leaves energy prices in Turkey highly dependent on foreign currency prices. Analysts estimate that every $10 increase in crude prices costs the Turkish economy an additional $4 billion per year.