According to recently published data by Eurostat, prices in Europe are rising so much that the average inflation rate of the 27 member states stands at 7.8%, which is only slightly below the Hungarian figure.Continue reading
The government has decided to extend the caps on fuel and some staple foods until July 1, Hungary’s prime minister announced on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting.
“Prices are going up across Europe primarily due to the war [in Ukraine – editor] and will continue to rise until the war is over,” Viktor Orbán said in a video message posted on Facebook.
“Seeing this, we cannot sit idly in Hungary. The government will do everything in its power to protect families from the consequences of increasing prices,” he said.
“We had to take a decision today. So, we decided to extend our price cap measures until July 1 in both the fuel and basic foods category,” Orbán said.
The prime minister announced in mid-January to freeze the price of sugar, wheat flour, sunflower-seed oil, pork leg, chicken breast and back and milk with 2.8 percent fat at their October 15, 2021 levels in an effort to dampen inflation. The original price caps have been in place for a period of three months from February 1.
The HUF 480/litre cap on petrol and diesel prices was introduced on November 15 and was set to expire on May 15.
Featured photo illustration by Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI