The price of self-service 95 octane gasoline went up to an all-time high of NIS 8.25 per liter
Soaring global oil prices, the continued depreciation of the shekel against the dollar and the 1% hike in VAT to 17% contributed to the increase.
The price of self-service 95 octane gasoline went up to an all-time high of NIS 8.25 per liter, from the current NIS 7.70 per liter, in two stages over the weekend. The full-service commission will rise by additional NIS 0.01, to NIS 0.17 per liter, including VAT, to NIS 8.42 per liter.
On Friday night the gasoline price rose by NIS 0.07 per liter, because of the 1% hike in VAT to 17%. On Saturday night, the price rose by a further NIS 0.48 per liter, because of the update for the price of oil. The total price hike, which took effect at midnight Saturday, was 7.14%, or NIS 0.55 per liter.
The price of gasoline in Israel is based on the average quotes of CIF La Vera trade prices for fuels in the Mediterranean basin, which are then converted from dollars into shekels. The CIF La Vera trade price of oil rose 14.1% during August to US$84.21 per barrel, which was slightly offset by a 1.16% fall in the shekel-dollar exchange rate to NIS 4.0637/$. The gasoline excise also rose by NIS 0.02 per liter to NIS 2.99 per liter. The excise is the second largest component of the price at the pump.
The fuel companies' marketing margin was left unchanged at NIS 0.64 per liter, or 8% of the price at the pump, after the price hike.
Following the government announcement of the new prices, the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies revealed that Israel has the sixth-highest gasoline taxes in the Western world, as measured by the purchasing power of its consumers. The study, led by Prof. Dan Ben-David, the center's director, said most of the increases in gas prices are not due to global petroleum prices. Rather, they are due to taxes on the refining and distribution of the price-controlled fuel. It found that the world price of oil in shekel terms is about the same now as in 2008, yet Israelis will be soon be paying NIS 1.20 more.
