Last Friday, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) published data on the regional fuel market for the first time, including Hungarian gasoline and diesel prices. According to last week’s data
- the average price of 95-octane motor gasoline was HUF 640, while in regional countries it was HUF 620, so the average price in Hungary It was 3.2 percent higher than the regional average.
- While the average weekly price of diesel fuel in Hungary was HUF 654, which is HUF 31, It exceeded the regional average price of HUF 623 by 5 percent.
KSH has now updated its data. It shows that in the week starting April 22
- In Hungary, the average price of 95-octane motor gasoline was HUF 648, while in regional countries it was HUF 623. The average price in Hungary It was 4 percent, i.e. HUF 25, higher than the regional average. The average price in the neighboring countries was HUF 638, the Hungarian price exceeded this by 1.6 percent, i.e. HUF 10.
- The average weekly price of diesel fuel in Hungary was HUF 649, which is HUF 27 It exceeded the regional average price of HUF 622 by 4.3 percent. The average price of diesel in the neighboring countries was HUF 638, which exceeded the Hungarian figure by 1.7 percent, i.e. HUF 11.
The price of gasoline has increased, while that of diesel has decreased
So, the average price of 95 gasoline in Hungary increased by HUF 8 compared to the previous week’s data. At the same time, the regional average also rose, by HUF 3. In neighboring countries, the average price of gasoline also increased by HUF 3.
The average price of diesel in Hungary fell by HUF 5 in a week. The regional average price is to a lesser extent – with HUF 1 –, but also decreased. The average price of diesel in neighboring countries stagnated compared to the previous week, the KSH concluded.
Then it was established: based on the data, the average price of gasoline was slightly higher in Austria, Serbia and Slovakia among the regional countries than in Hungary. The price of gasoline increased the most in Serbia and the Czech Republic, by HUF 11 and HUF 7, respectively. On the other hand, the average price in Poland decreased by HUF 5 compared to the previous week’s data.
In the case of the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, the average price of 95-octane gasoline was less than 10 percent, while in Bulgaria it was more than 10 percent lower than the Hungarian price.
In the case of diesel oil, the average weekly price in Austria and Serbia exceeded the Hungarian value, while the average price in Bulgaria was more than 10 percent lower than the average price of Hungarian diesel fuel.
In Slovenia and the Czech Republic, the price of diesel increased by HUF 2 and HUF 1, respectively, while it decreased in the other regional countries compared to the previous week. After Hungary, consumers experienced the second largest decrease in Poland, where the price of diesel fuel fell by HUF 4.
Protecting the government and families
The government’s narrative is clear: “there is a war and war prices in the fuel market, which puts a significant burden on families”, and the government is trying to reduce “war prices” because “it is not families who have to pay the price of war”. The cabinet puts pressure on fuel prices to protect families. Thus, anyone who says otherwise is arguing against the protection of families? So the government solved the issue in communication, but it is clear that it does not matter whether we are examining the prices of regional or neighboring countries. (If we look at our neighbors, the Hungarian average price for gasoline is 1.6 percent – 10 forints -, while for diesel the difference is 1.7 percent – 11 forints.)
According to the narrative opposed to the government, the problem with prices in Hungary is that fuels are taxed extremely high. However, this is not true either. The level of tax adjusted for the EKR fee and the retail tax (they are not taken into account in the KSH statistics based on the data of the European Commission) is 49.1 percent based on the data source of the Hungarian Mineral Oil Association, which is almost exactly the same as the regional average.
It is worth pointing out, as Portfolio also drew attention to: this year the forint weakened by 6.3 percent against the dollar, while the currencies of neighboring countries only weakened by 3.2 percent.
Márton Nagy gave two weeks
In any case, Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy made an announcement regarding fuel prices on Wednesday. The head of the department stated that the prices must return to the regional average, for which they will give the trader two weeks, if this does not happen, they will intervene. Finally, it is important to summarize the events: fuel prices have been debated in public life for a long time.
- On April 8, the Minister of National Economy stated to Index’s questions that he appointed Mol’s managers because of fuel prices, because according to him, contrary to the previous agreement, the prices are sticking out of the regional midfield.
- Then on April 11, the meeting was held, where Márton Nagy called on the representatives of the Hungarian Mineral Oil Association and Mol: his expectation is that the fuel prices – fulfilling the previous agreement – should reach the regional middle ground as soon as possible.
- And April 19 was the turning point, as the KSH published the regional fuel market data for the first time, including Hungarian gasoline and diesel prices. In it, they claim that the average price of Hungarian gasoline exceeded the regional average price by 3.2 percent and that of diesel by 5 percent.
- So that very day we asked Márton Nagy what step the cabinet was considering. Even then, he pointed out: it is not excluded that next week – after the government meeting on Wednesday – they will intervene in fuel prices.
- And on Tuesday, it also became clear following the Index’s questions: Márton Nagy recommends the government to intervene in fuel prices.
- It is important to point out that those who are opposed to the government emphasized that if the government decides to intervene, it can solve it by reducing taxes. (However, Márton Nagy reacted to the statements immediately, and Finance Minister Mihály Varga also posted about this later.)
- Finally, on Wednesday, the domestic actors were given an ultimatum: the prices must return to the regional average, and the government gives the traders two weeks to do so.
(Cover photo: Emília Németh / Index)
