It is likely that the UAE's Fuel Price Committee will announce retail petrol prices for March 2023 soon to match global prices.

In February 2022, the Committee increased retail fuel prices by more than 10 per cent month-on-month, pricing Super 98, Special 95, and E-Plus at Dh3.05, Dh2.93 and Dh2.86 per litre, respectively.

Petrol prices have been revised every month since the government announced the deregulation of retail fuel prices in August 2015. The revised prices are usually announced on the last day of the month, but there were instances when they were released on the second last day of the month.

Even after deregulation, local fuel prices remain substantially lower than global rates because most countries levy heavy taxes on fuel consumption. In the UAE, only value-added tax (VAT) is levied on retail fuel prices.

The UAE petroleum price is Dh1.84 per liter cheaper than global average rates, according to globalpetrolprices.com. As of February 20, the average fuel price was Dh2.93 in the UAE, compared to the global average of Dh4.77.

On Monday, oil prices dropped slightly in Asia with Brent trading at $82.88 a barrel, down 0.34 per cent, while WTI fell 0.29 per cent to $76.1 per barrel.

Oil prices peaked in the UAE in July 2022 when all three variants were priced above Dh4 per litre due to a major increase in global rates after the Russia-Ukraine crisis, fearing disruption of oil supply.

During the last four months of 2022, prices were lower due to fears of a global recession.