Sweden: Cost of petrol to go up

The cost of petrol in Sweden is to increase this summer, with experts predicting that the trouble in Ukraine could impact the crude oil market and send prices upwards.

Ulf Svahn, the CEO of industry association Svenska petroleum- och biodrivmedelinstitutet (SPBI), said that by July petrol in Sweden is likely to cost more than 15 kronor ($2.26) per litre. He noted that the price has already increased by 0.6 kronor since dropping to its lowest mark in January. Svahn went on to say that motorists would be “lucky” if the price hike stopped here, but were more likely to be “unlucky” and see further increases.

Experts said that due to the ongoing unrest in Ukraine it is tough to predict what will happen to the cost of petrol in the short-to-medium term.

Petrol station group OKQ8 chairman Goran Lindbla described the oil market as a “nervous” one, noting that it reacts extremely quickly so crude oil prices are liable to spike during times of uncertainty, particularly, like in this case, due to the fact that Russia exports so much crude to Europe.