PARIS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced Wednesday that France will release 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic reserves to help ease pressure on the fuel market.
The diesel reserves will be made available to distributors in France, a measure that would "mechanically lower prices at the pump" by around "12 to 18 euro cents per liter of diesel," Lecornu said, adding that he would soon sign a decree allowing the operation, which is expected to last three months.
Lecornu also called on France's state-owned electricity utility company EDF to maximize its production capacity, with the aim of ensuring that electricity prices do not increase this winter.
The move came amid continued rises in fuel prices, with the conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz putting further pressure on the market.
According to French television channel TF1 on Tuesday, the average price of diesel stood at 2.35 euros (2.63 U.S. dollars) per liter, while the price of SP95-E10 gasoline, the most widely sold gasoline in France, stood at 2.14 euros (2.40 U.S. dollars) per liter.
