Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek
The government is seeking to shield consumers from the impact of turbulence in global energy markets while maintaining budget discipline, Treasure and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, citing steps taken under a sliding-scale tax mechanism, known as “eşel mobil” in Turkish, for diesel.
“We are going through an extraordinary period in global energy markets,” Simsek said in a post on X on Aug. 20.
Despite a significant decline in crude oil prices from wartime peaks, pressure on diesel prices has persisted due to supply tightness stemming from transportation disruptions and refinery outages, he said.
Şimşek noted that the diesel-Brent crude margin has risen to around five times its long-term average, hovering at approximately $100 per barrel.
“Through the latest step we took under the ‘eşel mobil’ scheme, we are limiting the impact of this extraordinary global shock on our citizens while continuing to maintain budget discipline,” he said.
