Kuwaiti citizens and residents spent about 460 million dinars on automobile fuel during fiscal 2022/2023, following the consumption of about 4.89 billion liters of gasoline of various types in the country (premium, special, and ultra).
Official data obtained by Al-Anbaa showed an increase in the consumption of automobile fuel by citizens and residents of Kuwait by 9.5%, equivalent to about 426 million liters, to reach 4.89 billion liters during the period from the beginning of April 2022 until the end of March 2023, at 13.5 million liters per day, compared to 4.465 billion liters last year – from the beginning of April 2021 until the end of March 2022.
In terms of consumption, sales of premium gasoline (91 octane) increased by 8.7% during the last fiscal year, by 244 million liters, as consumption during the period from April 2022 until the end of March 2023 reached about 3.042 billion liters, compared to 2.79 billion liters for the period from April 2021. Until the end of March 2022, spending by citizens and residents on this type of fuel amounted to about 258.6 million dinars during the fiscal year 2022/2023, compared to 237.88 million dinars during the fiscal year 2021/2022.
Premium gasoline consumption represented about 62% of gasoline sales in Kuwait, and this type is witnessing an increasing increase every year as the cheapest option for driving vehicles in Kuwait, compared to a consumption of 722 million liters during the fiscal year 2014/2015.
It was noticeable that the demand for purchasing “premium” gasoline increased with the decision to raise fuel prices in 2016, as the average consumption of this type in the fiscal year 2015/2016 reached about 731.4 million liters, while this number doubled to reach about 1.66 billion liters in the following fiscal year, 2016/2017.
The rate of premium fuel consumption in Kuwait continued to rise steadily over the following years, reaching about 2.62 billion liters in the 2017/2018 fiscal year, about 2.83 billion liters in the 2018/2019 year, and about 2.88 billion liters in the 2019/2020 year, to begin a slight decline. During the Corona pandemic period, it reached 2.27 billion liters in 2020/2021, then it rose again in 2021/2022 to reach 2.79 billion liters and record a level of 3 billion liters during the last fiscal year.
Taking a closer look, it is clear that consumption of premium gasoline has more than tripled in 7 years, since the government raised its prices in September 2016, reaching about 731.4 million liters in 2015/2016, compared to 3.042 billion liters in the previous fiscal year.
The consumption of private fuel (95 octane) by citizens and residents during the last fiscal year increased by 12%, amounting to 194 million liters, as the volume of consumption during the period from April 2022 until the end of March 2023 reached about 1.8 billion liters, compared to 1.6 billion liters during the period from April 2021 until the end of March 2022, accounting for 37% of total domestic consumption.
Spending on this type of fuel amounted to about 189.9 million dinars during 2022/2023, compared to 169.5 million dinars for the same period in 2021/2022.
Private gasoline consumption recorded 3.233 billion liters annually during the fiscal year 2014/2015, rising in 2015/2016 to about 3.356 billion liters, and began to decline during the fiscal year 2016/2017 following the government’s decision to raise fuel prices.
Private gasoline consumption began to rise again during the period from 2021/2022, in which it recorded 1.6 billion liters, and 2022/2023, in which consumption reached 1.8 billion liters. Over the past 7 years, gasoline 95 consumption declined by about 46%, reaching 1.8 billion liters. Annually last fiscal year compared to 3.35 billion liters at the end of 2015/2016.
Citizens’ and residents’ consumption of Ultra gasoline continued to decline year after year, reaching about 40 million liters during the period from April 2022 to March 2023, a decline of 23.2% compared to 52.2 million liters during the period from April 2021 to the end of March 2022.
With a historical look at Ultra fuel consumption, it amounted to about 94.3 million liters in 2014/2015 and increased in 2015/2016 to 97.1 million liters, then decreased in 2016/2017 to 68.6 million liters, in 2017/2018 it reached 50.8 million liters, and in 2018/2019 it recorded 49.3 million liters, then 48.7 million liters at the end of 2019/2020, 43.5 million liters in 2020/2021, 52.2 million liters in 2021/2022, then 40 million liters in 2022/2023.
The price of premium gasoline is currently about 85 fils per liter, special gasoline is 105 fils per liter, and the price of ultra is 250 fils until December 31, 2023.