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OIL

Petrol prices soar for summer holidays

Just in time for summer road trips, petrol prices in Germany reached a new high in May after five consecutive months of increases, German auto club ADAC reported on Wednesday.

Petrol prices soar for summer holidays
Photo: DPA

On May 20, one day before the Ascension Day holiday weekend began, consumers got a taste of the “especially unfriendly side” of the month when prices reached their pinnacle for the year so far at €1.329 per litre ($7.18 per gallon). The monthly average was €1.285 per litre ($6.94 per gallon), ADAC’s market research showed.

Meanwhile diesel fuel increased during the month’s second holiday weekend to a monthly high on May 30 at €1.071 per litre ($5.76 per gallon), the auto club reported.

In mid-May, ADAC and another auto club ACE accused oil companies of intentionally unfair fuel price increases before holidays, saying prices were comparable to last summer’s – when oil was significantly more expensive on the world market.

“Then the oil price was more than $150 per barrel, today it’s under $60,” ACE head Wolfgang Rose said then. “It’s obvious to everyone that the prices at the pump have been kept artificially high at the expense of consumers.”

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BUSINESS

France’s EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

French energy giant EDF has unveiled net profit of €10billion and cut its massive debt by increasing nuclear production after problems forced some plants offline.

France's EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

EDF hailed an “exceptional” year after its loss of €17.9billion in 2022.

Sales slipped 2.6 percent to €139.7billion , but the group managed to slice debt by €10billion euros to €54.4billion.

EDF said however that it had booked a €12.9 billion depreciation linked to difficulties at its Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Britain.

The charge includes €11.2 billion for Hinkley Point assets and €1.7billion at its British subsidiary, EDF Energy, the group explained.

EDF announced last month a fresh delay and additional costs for the giant project hit by repeated cost overruns.

“The year was marked by many events, in particular by the recovery of production and the company’s mobilisation around production recovery,” CEO Luc Remont told reporters.

EDF put its strong showing down to a strong operational performance, notably a significant increase in nuclear generation in France at a time of historically high prices.

That followed a drop in nuclear output in France in 2022. The group had to deal with stress corrosion problems at some reactors while also facing government orders to limit price rises.

The French reactors last year produced around 320.4 TWh, in the upper range of expectations.

Nuclear production had slid back in 2022 to 279 TWh, its lowest level in three decades, because of the corrosion problems and maintenance changes after
the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hinkley Point C is one of a small number of European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) worldwide, an EDF-led design that has been plagued by cost overruns
running into billions of euros and years of construction delays.

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