Fuel prices will rise again from Wednesday.Continue reading
The Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) has published the regional fuel prices. These data are of great importance because earlier Márton Nagy, Minister for National Economy, announced that the government’s intervention in fuel prices would depend on them. The data so far confirm the government’s claim that the price of petrol and diesel has slipped compared to the regional average, Világgazdaság reports.
Based on the latest data from the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, the average price of 95 petrol in Hungary was HUF 640 (EUR 1.62 / 1 EUR=395 HUF), while in the regional countries it was HUF 620. The average price in Hungary is 3.2 percent higher than the regional average. The weekly average price of diesel fuel in Hungary was HUF 654, up HUF 31, or 5 percent, from the regional average of HUF 623, published KSH.
In response to a question from Index, the Minister for National Economy said:
It is not ruled out that the government will intervene in fuel prices next week.”
The government will discuss possible measures on Wednesday.
KSH wrote that after the introduction of official fuel prices in December 2022, fuel prices in Hungary rose above the regional average. In the case of 95 petrol, consumers saw significant price fluctuations at petrol stations in 2023, with the highest prices recorded in September, when the average price of petrol was around HUF 650. The lowest prices were in May and December, when the average price of a liter of 95 petrol was between HUF 540 and 570. Since the beginning of 2024, there has been a steady increase in fuel prices.
Compared with regional data, the average price of 95 petrol in Hungary has always exceeded the regional average, except for two weeks.
In the first two months of 2023, the weekly difference was between 10 and 17 percent, then narrowed during the year. In 2024, the gap opened again, with the price of petrol in Hungary already 5 percent above the regional average in April. The most recent data show that on April 15, 2024 it was 3.2 percent.
For diesel, the fluctuations in average prices were more significant than for petrol in 2023.
In January, the monthly average price was still above HUF 700, while in May the lowest average price was recorded, at HUF 545-570. As with petrol, the average price of diesel has been increasing steadily since the beginning of 2024.
In 2023, the average price of diesel in Hungary exceeded the regional average price every week, and in the first month of the year it was 8-13 percent higher. The rest of the year saw a similar trend to petrol prices. In the first quarter of 2024, the Hungarian diesel price was 5.4 percent higher than the regional average on a monthly basis. Based on the most recent data, it was 5.0 percent on April 15, 2024.
The average price of 95 petrol in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia was less than 10 percent lower than in Hungary, while in Bulgaria it was more than 10 percent lower. For diesel, the weekly average price in Austria and Serbia was above the Hungarian average, while the average price in Bulgaria was more than 10 percent lower than the average price of diesel in Hungary.
Via Világgazdaság, Index; Featured image: Facebook/MOL