THE OIL companies have cut the pump-price of petrol by two cents per litre and diesel by one cent per litre, but prices in Limassol, are unjustifiably higher than elsewhere, Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides said yesterday.

Paschalides attributed the price-cut to an improved exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar.

However, Paschalides said that the results of studies commissioned by the Ministry show that pump prices in Limassol and, to a lesser extent, Paphos are noticeably higher than in other towns.

While acknowledging that no-one could expect the same prices to be charged everywhere, the minister insisted that the prices being charged by some petrol stations in Limassol – in some cases a full four cents per litre more than elsewhere – could not be justified.

Petrol-station Owners Association President Stephanos Stephanou responded that his members are operating in a free market, adding that prices are always displayed at the entrance to petrol stations, so motorists have the right to choose where to buy fuel.

Stephanou also suggested that the price of fuel was something that the media and some politicians liked to talk about when it suited them.

Referring to Thursday’s announcement of private plans to build a terminal at Vassiliko (Larnaca) for importing and distributing oil products – which may also involve selling to the local market – Energy Department Head Solon Kasinis said that this could break the domination of the local market by a few large wholesale suppliers.

“The opportunity must be given to other players to enter the local market in oil products, so that we can escape the oligopoly we are facing at the moment, and thus avoid confrontations over retail prices”, he said.

Kasinis added that once the VTTI storage terminal is up and running, which is scheduled for the second half