Compared with October, prices generally remained stable.Continue reading
Fuel prices are changing, with petrol rising by HUF 8 gross and diesel by HUF 6 gross from Friday. Due to the rise in Brent oil prices, the wholesale price of petrol and diesel will also increase from Friday, holtankoljak.hu writes.
Therefore,
for 95 petrol, the price is expected to rise by HUF 570 (EUR 1.49),
and HUF 593 (EUR 1.55) per liter for diesel.
It was well worth filling up for the last time this year before Christmas Eve. Ottó Grád, the secretary general of the Hungarian Petroleum Association, told Index that it was a known fact that a price increase was expected in the fuel market from January. The main reason for this is the increase in excise duty, which is an EU obligation. “This should have been done years ago,” the Secretary General said, adding that Hungary would continue to have one of the lowest excise duties on fuel next year compared to other EU countries. Petrol stations, of course, will definitely want to reflect this cost in their prices, he noted.
The impact of the increase in excise duty will be HUF 41.3 gross per liter.
Fuel prices are mainly influenced by external factors, world market developments, global conflicts, and supply and demand. Nevertheless, Hungary is still in the middle of the regional average in terms of prices and the increase in excise duty will not change this.
This year, fuel retailing has seen a significant drop in turnover of around 15-20 percent. This is related to the higher turnover last year due to the fuel price cap. This year’s turnover will be similar to last years, as the market has corrected last year’s surplus, the peak consumption, Grád said.
This year, fuel prices started from a high level and gradually eased. In December of this year, the wholesale price of diesel were more than 70 forints cheaper than a year earlier, while the difference for petrol was almost HUF 30. Diesel was slightly cheaper in the middle of the year than it is now, but still very favorable compared to a year ago. Looking at retail prices, both petrol and diesel cost more than 100 forints more at the stations in September. Thus, the excise duty will be practically imperceptible compared to this September’s fuel prices.
Even with the tax increase, fuel will probably be cheaper at the beginning of 2024 than it was in the first days of this year.
For retailers, agricultural companies, transporters, construction companies, and industrial users, there is no point in waiting any longer to order fuel: prices have not been this low so far this year and the market cannot expect any further price reductions this year. “This is confirmed by the developments of the last few days: a risk premium is currently built into the oil price due to the events in the Red Sea, which may lead to longer delivery routes and delays in deliveries. These risks have led to an increase in freight rates, also affecting the price of the products delivered,” Grád concluded.
Via Index, Featured image: Pixabay