Romania recorded the European Union’s steepest annual increase in prices for fuels and lubricants for personal transport in July, with the combined category rising 24.2% from a year earlier, according to Eurostat.
The increase was well above the EU average of 16.9%. Germany and Lithuania followed Romania, both recording 22.9% increases, while Bulgaria rose 22.2% and the Netherlands 22.0%. Prices were higher year on year in 25 of the EU’s 27 member states.
The July increase followed annual rises of 20.7% in May and 13.7% in June across the EU, as fuel and lubricant prices continued to reflect the sharp energy-price movements seen during the spring and early summer.
Romania’s position at the top of the EU ranking refers to Eurostat’s combined fuels-and-lubricants category. The data therefore does not indicate that lubricant prices alone increased 24.2%.
For lubricant marketers and distributors, the figures nevertheless point to a significant increase in the cost environment surrounding personal transport in Romania, with higher running costs potentially influencing vehicle use, maintenance patterns and consumer spending.