The coronavirus epidemic is developing and petrol prices are falling as far as France where, in the space of a week, the prices at the pump of the various road fuels have fallen sharply. According to weekly data published by the government, the price of diesel (the best-selling fuel in France) has fallen by 2.92 euro cents since January 27 to reach 1.4343 euro / l. The same goes for super unleaded petrol, which appears on average at 1.5160 euros / l, a decrease of 1.83 cents. As for the SP95-E10, which can contain up to 10% ethanol, it drops by 2 cents, to 1.491 euro / l.
To understand the link between the coronavirus and the price of fuel, we must measure the weight of China in the world economy. The Middle Empire indeed represents more than 16% of the world GDP and 30% of the industrial production of the planet. Above all, it is the world's largest importer and consumer of oil. However, fuel prices vary according to the euro-dollar exchange rate, taxes, stocks of petroleum products and especially demand and therefore the price of a barrel of oil.
"I have never seen such a rapid decline!"
The appearance of the coronavirus at the end of December, which has already infected 17,200 people in China and killed 361 people, more deaths than the epidemic of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) which had killed 349 there in 2002-2003, may cause the Chinese economy to slow down. "This is what investors expect," says an oil expert. According to sources cited by the Bloomberg agency, China's crude consumption has already dropped by 20%…
It must be said that the signals sent by the Chinese authorities are worrying. Since the confinement of the city of Wuhan and its 20 million inhabitants, considered to be the epicenter of the epidemic, the list of Chinese communes cut off from the world to prevent the spread of the epidemic has been growing. And with it, that of closed factories, at least until mid-February.
VIDEO. Inside Wuhan, ghost town
This Monday evening, around 19 hours, the barrel of Brent posted a decrease of - 5.46% compared to January 31, at 55.01 dollars (49.73 euros). "In two weeks, the liter of diesel lost 10 cents, says a pump attendant from Aude, a few km from the Spanish border. In 30 years in the business, I have never seen such a rapid decline! This is not why we have more customers. Motorists continue to go to the other side of the Pyrenees, where the liter is 20 cents cheaper because of the taxes. But at least motorists are smiling. "