ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said inflation in June was significantly higher than expected by the NBH which means there is a higher chance that in July the central bank raises its base rate.Continue reading
Following the latest hike on Wednesday, fuel prices have reached a historical height in Hungary. 95 petrol now costs as much as HUF 451 (EUR 1.26).
On Wednesday, fuel prices increased once again, with petrol up by HUF 5, and diesel up by HUF 2.
This means that the average price of type 95 petrol has reached HUF 451 (EUR 1.26), while diesel now costs HUF 447 (EUR 1.25) on average.
As a matter of fact, petrol prices have increased by HUF 24 (EUR 0.07), and the price of diesel by HUF 16 (EUR 0.05) just over the past month.
It was back in April 2012 when fuel prices (namely that of petrol, as diesel cost two HUF more than today) were this high.
According to Erste’s oil market analyst, as reported by Index, although oil prices are lower at the moment than they were back in 2012, the Hungarian Forint has since depreciated significantly against the U.S. Dollar (from around HUF 230 to over HUF 300 in nine years). A weak forint, therefore, is definitely one of the key factors behind the high prices. If the current forint exchange rates were similar to those in 2012, prices would be about HUF 30-40 lower, Tamás Pletser claimed.
Pletser also blamed the pandemic, saying that during lockdowns demand has naturally gone down resulting in sinking prices, but now when trade, production, travel, etc. are resuming, demand is back on the rise too.
In addition, he unfortunately expects oil prices to go further up in the second half of the year, although he deems it unlikely that petrol could reach HUF 500 (EUR 1.4).
featured image illustration via Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI