The price of gasoline is the most expensive in the region in Hungary and will continue to rise

Thanks to the Hungarian government’s price cap, Hungary has had the cheapest fuel for more than a year. But now that the price cap is over, the cost of fuel has skyrocketed like nowhere else in the region.

The most expensive petrol in the region

Drivers filling up their tanks in Hungary are in for a rude surprise, vg.hu reports. At the current price, petrol costs HU 635 (EUR 1.58) per litre on average in Hungary, while diesel is charged for HUF 707 (EUR 1.76).

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Looking at the price levels in neighbouring European countries, petrol in Hungary is the highest in the region. Having said that, in Western and Northern Europe, fuel is still significantly more expensive than in Hungary. In Germany, petrol costs EUR 1.70 and diesel EUR 1.83, while in Denmark it is EUR 1.84 and EUR 1.82.

• In Austria, petrol is EUR 1.46 and diesel 1.67,
• in Croatia (where a price freeze is in force), 1.34 and 1.6,
• 1.51 and 1.57 in the Czech Republic,
• 1.40 and 1.65 in Poland,
• 1.33 and 1.57 in Romania,
• 1.5 and 1.76 in Serbia (with a sliding price cap),
• 1.50 and 1.63 in Slovakia,
• 1.25 and 1.48 in Slovenia (also subject to a price freeze) last week.

According to Eszter Bujdos, managing director of Holtankoljak, Hungarian wells have been under pressure for a period of 13 months due to the price freeze. “In the current situation they need to realise higher margins if they want to stay afloat,” Bujdos said.

Prices continue to rise

According to analyses, the price of petrol in Hungary could be as high as HUF 700 (EUR 1.77) per litre within weeks. “We are likely to return to fuel prices above HUF 700 in the following period. And in the worst case scenario, if the forint starts to weaken again against the dollar or the euro, we could see a much higher price increase,” said László Molnár.

The Democratic Coalition said the Hungarian government should temporarily cut the 27 percent VAT on petrol to help the economy and the Hungarian population. The Hungarian government says sanctions are to blame for high fuel prices, writes szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu.

Read alsoEURO will be introduced as a parallel currency in Hungary? Some cities already use it

Source: vg.hu, szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu