France Taps Strategic Diesel Reserves, Retailers Cut Pump Prices
TotalEnergies, E. Leclerc and Cooperative U announced immediate price cuts as the government's release of strategic diesel stocks reached the market Sunday.
French drivers began seeing lower diesel prices on Sunday as the government's release of strategic fuel reserves reached the market, with the country's biggest retailers announcing immediate cuts.
TotalEnergies lowered prices at its Access stations to 2.15 euros per litre, 10 cents below its other stations, saying it acted "without waiting for the physical delivery of strategic diesel stocks" so customers could benefit from the reserves' historic cost.
Supermarket chain E. Leclerc announced a 21-cent-per-litre cut on diesel at its roughly 742 service stations across France, saying the reduction would apply daily while prices continue to track the market. The Cooperative U retail group announced an identical cut.
Diesel averaged about 2.37 euros per litre in France on Saturday. In mid-October the government ordered SAGESS, the company managing the strategic stockpile, to sell 10 million barrels of diesel over three months at roughly 0.28 euro per litre - the stocks were bought before the Middle East war and are being sold far below the market average of about 1.1 euro per litre in mid-October. The Economy Ministry has said motorists should see relief of up to 18 cents per litre.
(Featured image: a TotalEnergies station in Cusset, France, in March 2022. File photo. Photo: Tabl-trai, CC BY-SA 4.0.)