(Bloomberg) --
The United Arab Emirates increased petrol prices for the fifth time this year, further widening a gap with other oil producers in the region who subsidize the cost of fuel.
Gasoline prices in the gulf nation, OPEC's third-largest producer, have jumped about 80% since the start of the year amid a surge in oil prices. In the same period, crude has soared almost 50% to more than $100 a barrel, mainly because of the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Other countries in the oil-producing region subsidize fuel to varying degrees, but the UAE deregulated prices in 2015. Petrol now costs three times more in the UAE than in Kuwait, and prices are more than double the average cost in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.
The high cost of fuel has prompted ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. to raise fares in the UAE twice this year. “The price of fuel in the UAE is the highest and most expensive in the Gulf, and the graph is heading upwards,” academic Abdulkhaleq Abdulla said in a tweet on Friday.
Still, while UAE petrol prices are high relative to the region at about $1.23 per liter, they're well below the global average of $1.47, according to data from globalpetrolprices.com. Petrol costs $1.37 a liter on average in the US, and $2.32 in the UK.
(Adds chart and details on average prices in 5th paragraph)
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