Brutal fuel price hike comes from January in Hungary

Thanks to recent excise tax adjustments, the cost of fuel per litre in Hungary is poised to surpass the regional average significantly.

Brutal fuel price rises from January

Zsolt Hernádi, CEO of MOI, asserts that a HUF 41 hike in fuel prices in Hungary is inevitable from 1 January, primarily attributed to the escalation in excise duty.

In Hungary, one-sixth of car owners have already ditched their vehicles due to soaring fuel costs, a trend that could exacerbate further.

Hungary has been risking infringement proceedings for years by setting excise duty levels below the EU minimum, economx.hu reports. The weakening of the Hungarian forint has led to Hungarian excise duty falling below the EU minimum.

At present, excise duty stands at HUF 120 per litre for petrol and HUF 110.35 per litre for diesel in Hungary. At the current exchange rate of approximately HUF 381, this translates to only EUR 0.314 for petrol and EUR 0.289 for diesel, a situation bound to prompt decisive action sooner or later.

Preliminary calculations indicate that come January, petrol will cost HUF 618 (EUR 1.62) per litre, while diesel will be priced at HUF 634 (EUR 1.66).

Read also:

• Fuel price to change before Christmas rush in Hungary