UAE petrol price prediction: Will costs fall in May?
Dubai: With the UAE set to announce petrol and diesel prices for May 2025 in the coming days, residents who are routinely keeping an eye out for updates will track any hikes or dips in retail costs in order to determine how to budget for them.
In April, Super 98 petrol costs Dh2.57 a litre, compared to Dh2.73 a litre last month, while Special 95 costs Dh2.46 a litre, compared to Dh2.61 a litre in March. With regard to E-Plus 91 petrol, the cost was determined to Dh2.38 a litre, compared to Dh2.54 a litre in March, while diesel costs Dh2.63 a litre, compared to Dh2.77 a litre last month. But how are prices expected to fare next month?
UAE petrol, diesel prices
Since the UAE deregulated fuel prices in 2015, monthly price adjustments have aligned with global oil trends. The latest revisions are expected soon.
What is seen driving May fuel prices?
Oil prices are last seen extending declines as the global trade war hurt the outlook for demand, with economic data pointing to signs of strain and China stepping up its pushback against the Trump administration's tariffs.
Brent fell toward $65 a barrel, down for a second day, with West Texas Intermediate below $62. A widely-referenced gauge of US manufacturing weakened significantly, adding to signs of the drag from President Donald Trump's levies.
Even though oil prices went down in April, signs show the market is still tight and could stay that way for now. One key sign is that the current oil contract (for June) is more expensive than the next one (for July), which usually means demand is strong right now. This pricing gap is the biggest it's been in almost three months.
Will prices drop further next month?
With the UAE set to announce its retail fuel prices on the last day of April, all eyes are on how global oil markets have performed in recent weeks. While April saw a drop in international oil prices, underlying indicators suggest the market is still tight, with strong near-term demand.
One key signal is that the price for oil to be delivered in June is higher than for July — a pattern known as backwardation — which often points to current supply concerns. That pricing gap is now at its widest in nearly three months, hinting that the recent dip in prices may not last long.
Given this backdrop, and the UAE's practice of aligning monthly fuel prices with average global trends, May's rates are likely to reflect both the recent softening and the signs of market strength ahead. This could mean a smaller cut compared to April — or possibly stable prices — depending on how oil fares in the final trading days of the month.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
3 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Tesla hit with a pair of downgrades amid fallout from Trump feud
9 June 2025 18:41 (BLOOMBERG)Tesla Inc. was hit with a pair of downgrades on Monday, underscoring mounting concerns on Wall Street about the electric-vehicle maker's outlook following last week's clash between Chief Executive Elon Musk and President Donald Argus Research and Baird cut the stock to the equivalent of hold ratings, cementing Tesla's reputation as the least-loved megacap stock among analysts. Shares fell 1.6% in premarket downgrades mark the latest hurdle for Tesla, shares of which are down about 27% in 2025, making it the weakest performer of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks. Tesla shares had rallied in the wake of Trump's reelection, which Musk vigorously supported, but are down almost 40% off their peak in of the stock's recent decline came after the high-profile blowup between Musk and Trump last week. While Musk subsequently suggested he was open to making amends, the tensions are seen as a significant headwind overhanging the shares."Looking ahead, we are concerned that the war of words between President Trump and Elon Musk, along with expiration of EV credits, could further weaken demand for new Teslas,' wrote analysts at Argus Research, who downgraded the stock to hold from feud, they added, is emblematic of how the stock "appears to be currently trading on non-fundamentals events.' This view was echoed by Baird, which cut the stock to neutral from outperform."The recent incident between Musk and President Trump exemplifies key-person risk associated with Musk's political activities,' analyst Ben Kallo wrote. "While we have no indication of how the relationship may change or what either will do, we see the situation as adding uncertainty to TSLA's outlook. Additionally, we believe this may heighten questions regarding brand damage, which we expect will persist until sustained evidence of volume growth avails itself.'Musk's comments about Tesla's robotaxi program "are a bit too optimistic, and we believe this excitement has been priced into shares,' Baird said. The service, which focuses on driverless vehicles and artificial intelligence, is scheduled to launch in Austin this week. The two downgrades underline how Tesla is the megacap viewed most skeptically by Wall Street. Fewer than half of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the shares, by far the weakest such ratio among the market's biggest companies.
Zawya
3 hours ago
- Zawya
Oil prices steady ahead of US-China trade talks
Oil prices were stable on Monday as investors awaited U.S.-China trade talks in London in the hope that a deal could boost the global economic outlook and subsequently fuel demand. Brent crude futures gained 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $66.58 a barrel by 1312 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $64.64. Brent rose 4% last week and WTI 6.2% as the prospect of a U.S.-China trade deal boosted risk appetite for some investors. U.S. President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping spoke on the telephone on Thursday before U.S. and Chinese officials meet in London on Monday in an effort to calm trade tensions between the two nations. A trade deal between the U.S. and China could support the global economic outlook and in turn boost demand for commodities including oil. Monday's talks could dampen the impact on prices of a slew of Chinese data releases, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. Chinese export growth slowed to a three-month low in May as U.S. tariffs curbed shipments while factory gate deflation deepened to its worst in two years, heaping pressure on the world's second-largest economy at home and abroad. "Bad timing for crude oil, which was testing the top of the range and knocking on the door of a technical break above $65," Sycamore said, referring to WTI prices. The data also showed that China's crude oil imports declined in May to the lowest daily rate in four months as state-owned and independent refiners began planned maintenance. The prospect of a potential China-U.S. trade deal outweighed concern over the price impact from increased output by the OPEC+ group of oil producers next month. (Reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Florence Tan in Singapore and Colleen Howe in Beijing. Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London Editing by David Goodman and David Evans)
Zawya
5 hours ago
- Zawya
Wall Street heads for cautious start, dollar eases ahead of US-China talks
Wall Street index futures hovered a touch higher while the dollar pared recent gains at the outset of London talks meant to mend a trade rift between the United States and China. S&P 500 E-minis were up around 8 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis ticked 14 points higher, to almost 0.1%. MSCI's broadest index of world shares climbed 0.2%, and earlier hit a record high of 894.13. Europe's STOXX 600 ticked 0.2% lower, weighed by aerospace and defence-linked sectors. Top trade representatives from Washington and Beijing are due to meet for talks expected to focus on critical minerals, whose production is dominated by China. "Trade policy will remain the big macro uncertainty," said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at "Signs of further momentum in talks could give the markets fresh boost to kick off the week." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent Washington in talks with China, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post. China's foreign ministry said Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in Britain for the first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism. Wall Street stocks closed sharply higher on Friday after the closely watched monthly U.S. jobs data eased concerns about damage to the world's biggest economy from Trump's unpredictable tariff regime. Sentiment was weighed down by a standoff in Los Angeles that led to Trump calling in the California National Guard to quell demonstrations over his immigration policies. The dollar fell 0.4% against the yen to 144.315, trimming its 0.9% jump on Friday. The European single currency rose about 0.2% to $1.1415. Sterling rose against the dollar 0.4% to $1.3595. CHINA EXPORT GROWTH SLOWS U.S. job growth slowed in May by less than forecast, data showed on Friday. But dour economic readings from China added to evidence the trade war is taking a toll. China's export growth slowed to a three-month low in May, while factory-gate deflation deepened to its worst level in two years, separate reports showed on Monday. Tariff negotiation hopes dispelled dour economic data and Asian markets closed higher. The Japanese Nikkei closed almost 1% higher, China's blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed roughly 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%. Japan is considering buying back some super-long government bonds issued in the past at low interest rates, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan said on Monday. Attention now turns to U.S. inflation data on Wednesday that may adjust expectations for the timing of any rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Fed is in a blackout period ahead of its June 18 policy decision. "Beneath the surface, fragilities are building," said Bruno Schneller, managing director at Erlen Capital Management, noting that the U.S. CPI release is expected to show another rise, signaling that inflation remains sticky. "While this may offer some near-term support for the U.S. dollar, broader macro dynamics – notably fiscal expansion, rising structural deficits, and political unpredictability – are increasingly clouding the outlook for both rates and currencies," he said. Gold rose around 0.25% to $3,318 per ounce after a 1.3% fall on Friday. Brent crude recovered earlier losses to climb 20 cents to $66.67 while U.S. WTI crude rose 19 cents to $64.67 a barrel following a 1.9% surge late last week. (Reporting by Nell Mackenzie in London and Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Bernadette Baum)
