Capped Petrol Prices Restricted to Privately-Owned Cars

Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, announced the decision a few minutes after 11:00 o’clock on Saturday morning at the government briefing, and shortly afterwards it was published in the Hungarian Gazette: from 12:00 o’clock on Saturday only private individuals, taxis and agricultural machinery are allowed to receive at the government-capped price of HUF 480 per liter.

The minister justified the decision by saying that the Mol oil refinery in Százhalombatta, which covers 100% of Hungary's fuel needs, had to be shut down on Friday for maintenance. He added that fuel supplies would now be ensured by imports and by releasing a quarter of strategic stocks.

The supply of petrol stations in Hungary will continue to be the responsibility of Mol, since, as Ottó Grád, president of the Hungarian Petroleum Association, said, independent importers will not supply fuel to Hungary, as this would still mean loss-making sales for them, at most the change is that the losses will not be as high as they have been so far.

Industry sources confirmed to the news site index.hu that cars now excluded from the preferential scheme account for 20% of the total stock, that is, possibly around 800,000 cars.

A large group of the victims of the new regulation are hauliers. The operating costs of transport companies will now rise significantly as a result of the roughly 35% rise in fuel prices. In road transport, fuel costs account for 40% of the freight charge. The measures announced are therefore likely to rapidly increase the cost of transport. The real challenge will be for small and medium-sized enterprises. If the cost of transport rises, it will also increase inflation, which was 12.6% in June in Hungary, up from 10.8% in May, according to Eurostat.