Fuel prices surge again as diesel nears record highs

Economy fuelTop News Fuel prices surge again as diesel nears record highs Kavsima2 Id 1418542 Relevant News Public service hiring overhaul targets two-year recruitment delays 6 September 2026 Fuel prices surge again as diesel nears record highs 6 September 2026 Turkey turns occupied north into military hub as regional tensions rise 6 September 2026 newsroom 6 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber By Petra Argyrou Fuel prices in Cyprus have risen sharply since military strikes on Iran began, with diesel up 45 cents a litre, or 31.8%, and petrol up 29.2 cents, or 22.2%, according to figures from the Cyprus Consumers Association. The increases have brought renewed pressure on households four years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring in 2022, when petrol reached €1.82 a litre and diesel came close to €2, setting record highs. Prices have remained high since then despite periods of decline. Diesel is now approaching those levels again, while petrol remains further below its 2022 peak. The latest surge followed the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, which has pushed retail fuel prices higher in two separate waves over the past six months. March marked the sharpest rise. In just 26 days, petrol jumped from €1.315 to €1.522 a litre, while diesel, which has faced stronger pressure, rose from €1.413 to €1.764. The government’s decision in April to cut fuel taxes by 8.3 cents a litre helped cushion the impact but was not enough to offset international price pressures. A second round of increases began in mid-July, reversing the declines recorded in previous months. Between 16 July and 2 September, petrol rose by 13.5 cents a litre and diesel by 28.3 cents. Petrol reached €1.607 a litre, while diesel climbed to €1.863. The government is now considering another extension of the reduced tax rate on road fuels, with the current measure due to expire on 17 September. Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said this week that he intends to submit a proposal to the Cabinet to extend the reduced fuel tax rates until November. Acknowledging that energy market developments remain negative and continue to put pressure on households, Keravnos said the situation would be reviewed again when the extension expires to decide whether another renewal is needed. Supplies continue normally Cyprus has so far recorded no problems with fuel availability despite the geopolitical crisis in the region, Petrol Station Owners Association vice-president Christodoulos Christodoulou told the Cyprus News Agency. He said fuel companies were continuing to fill petrol stations’ orders normally and had assured operators that there were no supply problems. Cyprus imports fuel from Greece and Israel, and the continuing geopolitical tensions have so far not affected those supplies. Despite higher prices, fuel consumption during the holiday period remained at roughly the same level as last year because people were travelling more. Christodoulou said, however, that more motorists were crossing into the occupied areas to buy fuel, which he attributed to higher prices in the government-controlled areas. Refinery margins soar European petrol refinery margins rose above $62 a barrel on Wednesday, according to trading data reviewed by Reuters. Eurobob E5 petrol barges were trading at a premium of about $62.07 a barrel over Brent futures, up from $55.62 on Tuesday, Reuters reported. At that level, European petrol was trading just below the record Eurobob E5 petrol margin of $62.10 a barrel reached in June 2022, at the height of the disruption to oil markets following the start of the war in Ukraine, according to LSEG data. “Rising refinery strikes in the Middle East and Russia have further tightened already constrained global refining capacity, pushing refined product margins to new highs,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note last week. European petrol refining margins have also been supported by low inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) trading and storage hub. Low water levels have restricted barge flows along the Rhine, worsening already tight supplies in the Atlantic Basin, Rystad Energy’s Janiv Shah said. ARA petrol inventories fell last week to their lowest level since September 2021, at just 752,000 metric tonnes, according to data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global. 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