The holidays are over, and with them the summer fuel discounts. Thanks to the summer discounts, it was possible to save 30–40 groszy per litre of fuel. Advertisements in nationwide media encouraged people to use the discounts and praised the savings they generated. Meanwhile, in mid-September, fuel in Bolesławiec can be bought more cheaply than in August with the discounts.
This is, of course, good news for drivers, considering here and now. Currently, at stations in Bolesławiec, a litre of 95-octane petrol costs around PLN 6.25 (and, if you look carefully, even PLN 6.14), while a litre of standard diesel costs around PLN 6.16 (the lowest price we found in Bolesławiec was PLN 6.08), and LPG costs PLN 2.94.
How is this possible, given that from August to mid-September the price of a barrel of crude oil rose by more than 10 dollars, while one dollar costs around 30 groszy more than in August? Let us recall that the price of the raw material and the exchange rate of the dollar are, alongside the pricing policies of fuel companies, the basic factors determining fuel prices at stations. So have market forces suddenly stopped working?
Or perhaps it is connected with the approaching elections and the pricing policy of Orlen, the largest producer and seller of fuel in Poland? Or maybe the entry of the MOL corporation onto the Polish market suddenly made the market more competitive and prices lower? Whatever the cause, the fact is that fuel prices have fallen, and one might risk saying that they will not rise at least until mid-October. No one knows what will happen after the elections.