Commodity prices analysis (2006)

After the increase in the energy price at the end of 2005, Italian families will have to pay a further cost in the first four months of 2006. A possible further increase in the prices of energy products, caused by the geopolitical difficulties affecting some of the main oil-producing countries, could in fact become even heavier by early autumn. These difficulties would force greater use of gas as a substitute for oil, which would worsen the effects of a situation in which the price of natural gas in euros has risen by nine times compared to 1995, while the price of oil has increased “only” four times over the same period.