OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2011. The petrol price grew by 17.3 per cent in the first nine months of 2011, reaching a historical record of 16.6 lei per one litre. At the same time, the sales dropped by 6 per cent, according to a press release by the National Agency for Regulation of Energy (ANRE).

The oil market has been keeping this trend since in 2010, when the petrol prices increased by 32.3 per cent, and the sales decreased by 6.1 per cent. In 2009, the demand of petrol diminished by 0.6 per cent only.

The diesel oil got more expensive than petrol. In January-September 2011, the diesel oil price dropped by 24.7 per cent, reaching an average of 14.66 lei per litre, and the liquefied gas price grew by 7.5 lei per one litre, following a 15.4-per-cent rise in the first nine months of 2011.

"The price rises prompted consumers to prefer cheaper fuel, such as diesel oil, and especially liquefied gas, which is twice cheaper than petrol," experts said.

"Thus, while the petrol sales dropped by 6 per cent to 128,700 tons, the demand for diesel oil grew by 9.2 per cent, with 168,300 tons sold. The liquefied gas sales increased by 12.6 per cent, and stood at 47,700 tons.

The ANRE said the prices of petrol and diesel oil increased because of the rise in the import prices triggered by higher quotations at international exchanges.