Price at pump set to hit record high of NIS 8.27 per liter
Government says rise due to world energy markets, which have been rattled by supply concerns amid Iran war
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A limited reprieve from sky-high gas prices will come to an end Thursday, with standard fuel costs set to hit a record NIS 8.27 per liter for October, the Energy Ministry announced Tuesday.
The price for standard 95 octane gasoline, equivalent to $10.17 per gallon, will be NIS 0.52 higher per liter than in September, even with a half-shekel discount on a fuel tax excise surcharge remaining in place.
The discount, which dropped the price at the pump to NIS 7.75 for most of September, is set to expire at the end of October.
The previous record high was NIS 8.25 per liter, set in 2012.
Gas prices have soared worldwide since the beginning of the Iran war in late February, as Tehran’s obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off a key pathway for the global supply of oil and gas. Ongoing tensions between the US and Iran over control of the strait have also fueled uncertainty in the oil market.
In a statement, the Energy Ministry said the rise is largely due to instability in world energy markets sending prices skyward, with oil breaking the $100 per barrel benchmark. It did not mention the war with Iran started by Israel and the US.
The shekel’s strength against the dollar is also a factor, it said.
“The price increase stems from a 13% rise in gas prices in world markets, against a backdrop of rising oil prices globally and the continued concerns of harm to oil supplies and the stability of the world energy market,” the ministry said.
It noted that the price includes the current excise discount.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich required special permission from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to apply the excise discount amid concerns it could be illegal so close to the election scheduled for October 27.
Without the tax cut, the price in September would have been NIS 8.25 per liter, matching a record previously set in September 2012, when, similarly, tensions between Iran and an Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drove a jump in oil prices.
Fuel prices in Israel are controlled by the government, which updates the maximum gas stations may charge once a month.
The Times of Israel Community.