The price of petrol in the UAE has changed for the first time since April 2020.
Motorists will pay more at the pumps for Super 98, Special 95 and Diesel this month. The cost of diesel altered slightly in February.
The breakdown per litre is as follows:
• Super 98: Dh2.12 – up from Dh1.91 in February (11 per cent rise)
• Special 95: Dh2.01 – up from Dh1.80 (12 per cent rise)
• Diesel: Dh2.15 – up from Dh2.01 (7 per cent rise)
Petrol prices in the UAE were liberalised in August 2015 to allow them to move in line with the market. However, they were held by the Fuel Price Committee last year, coinciding with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Global oil prices have been rising steadily this year following their fall last year when the pandemic had a dramatic effect on demand.
Brent crude rose $1.24, or 1.9 per cent, to $65.66 per barrel in trading this morning and is up more than 20 per cent this year, while US West Texas Intermediate was up 1.9 per cent to $62.68 a barrel.
Further gains are expected this week ahead of an Opec+ meeting on Thursday, which may result in some supply returning to the market.
"We think if the combined (Opec+) increase does not exceed 500,000 bpd, that will be bullish for prices," analysts at Singapore's OCBC bank told Reuters.
ING analysts said Opec+ – an alliance of oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia –will need to be careful to avoid surprising traders by releasing too much of supplies back into the markets.
"There is a large amount of speculative money in oil at the moment, so they will want to avoid any action that will see them running for the exit," they said.
Meanwhile, Bank of America said last week it expects Brent to rise at its fastest pace since the 1970s over the next three years, potentially hitting $100 per barrel.
Motorists in Abu Dhabi have already been hit with a rise in costs this year after a new road toll system was introduced.
The system, known as Darb, is active between the hours of 7am to 9am and 5pm to 6pm, for people driving through the gates on Sheikh Khalifa Bridge, Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Al Maqta Bridge and Musaffah Bridge. Passing through costs Dh4.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
