Trend turn: Fuel prices will increase considerably in Hungary!

Fuel prices have been dropping since the government decided to scrap the price cap scheme. Now they stand at HUF 585/l (EUR 1.57/l) in the case of gasoline, and we must pay HUF 610/l (EUR 1.64/l) for diesel. However, experts say that will change soon. Surely our wallet and family budget will not be thankful for what comes next.

According to rtl.hu, the price difference between diesel and gasoline is HUF 25 (EUR 0.067). That is a 16-year-old height. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fuel prices skyrocketed, and only the government price caps protected the customers and taxi drivers since they froze it at HUF 480/l ((EUR 1.29/l), which was the lowest in the region. Now, Hungarian fuel prices are at their highest, so people try to cut back. Hungarians told RTL News that they try to use alternatives to commute, but some families just simply cannot do without their cars.

Based on the Hungarian Petroleum Association, the relatively warm winter’s low energy need helped prices to decrease significantly in the last few months. On Wednesday, for instance, another round of wholesale price fall is projected, Eszter Bujdos, an expert of holtankoljak.hu told RTL Klub. The fall will be around HUF 6-7 (EUR 0.016-0.019), but nobody knows whether that will affect the retail sector.

However, that trend will turn the other way around. GKI, a Hungarian economy research institute, forecasts HUF 650/l (EUR 1.75/l) for gasoline and diesel soon. It is brought about by the 20 percent Brent-type oil price increase in March, which made oil-producer countries curb their production. As a result, there will be a shortage in the second half of this year.

GKI experts believe we will soon reach the USD 100/barrel oil price. If fuel prices begin to surge again, they will drag the EU-top Hungarian inflation by at least 0.5 percent higher.