site.btaFuel Prices in Bulgaria Decline amid Expectations of Possible Peace Agreement between US and Iran

Fuel prices in Bulgaria have continued to decline over the past week amid expectations of a possible peace agreement between the United States and Iran, easing tensions on international energy markets. The downward trend persisted throughout the week, and optimism remains, although it is still far from the levels seen before the conflict.

The average price of A95 petrol, published daily by the National Revenue Agency (NRA), has remained at around EUR 1.52 per litre for more than a week, while diesel fuel has averaged EUR 1.59 per litre in recent days, according to NRA data.

The situation and market developments are being monitored on a daily basis, but the near future remains difficult to predict, Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association (BPGA) Chair Svetoslav Benchev told BTA.

According to him, even if the conflict in the Middle East comes to a definitive end, uncertainty will continue to affect prices for some time because restoring supplies will not happen overnight and will depend on various factors, including the condition of oil extraction infrastructure and facilities.

"At one point, diesel prices rose sharply due to fears of a shortage in Europe and globally, but those fears did not materialize and prices began to decline slightly. As for petrol, we observed the opposite trend at the beginning of spring. The market is generally testing whether there will be stronger summer demand. I do not believe there will be, and the prices themselves suggest there will not be," Benchev said.

He added that the reserves currently being used worldwide will be depleted in the foreseeable future and that a clear solution must be found before then.

Regarding Bulgaria, Benchev said there are no problems with fuel supplies. "We need to see what happens globally; that is currently the only factor influencing prices," the expert commented.

Another issue of concern for the association is combating the grey economy in the fuel sector, which, according to BPGA estimates, causes millions of euros in annual losses to the state budget. Measures to address the problem were discussed this week at a meeting with the management of the Customs Agency.

Following the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East at the end of February, Bulgaria introduced a compensation scheme for individuals to offset rising fuel prices. The programme is in force until the end of June.

The assistance amounts to EUR 20 per month and is granted when the average price of A95 petrol or diesel exceeds EUR 1.60 per litre for three consecutive days.

In response to an inquiry from BTA, the press office of the Labour and Social Policy Ministry said that the total value of compensation payments for March, April and May amounted to EUR 12,970,320.

For March, assistance was paid to 182,856 people, amounting to a total of EUR 3.66 million. In April, 231,810 people received compensation worth EUR 4.64 million in total, while EUR 4.67 million is due to be paid for May to 234,169 beneficiaries.