Newsroom
Cyprus motorists did not imagine it: filling the car became noticeably more expensive in August.
Petrol prices on the island jumped 6.2% compared with July, according to new Eurostat figures, placing Cyprus among the four EU countries with the sharpest monthly increases.
Only Spain, where petrol rose 8.2%, Romania at 6.6% and Italy at 6.3% recorded larger increases.
For households in Cyprus, where a car is often a necessity rather than a luxury, even a relatively small rise at the pump can quickly eat into the monthly budget. It also affects businesses, deliveries and transport costs, meaning the pressure does not necessarily end when motorists leave the petrol station.
The increase in Cyprus was part of a much broader European surge.
Across the EU, prices for fuels and lubricants used in personal transport were 23.8% higher in August than during the same month last year. The pace of the increase has accelerated sharply, rising from 13.7% in June to 16.9% in July before approaching 24% in August.
Fuel prices were higher than a year earlier in 26 of the EU’s 27 member states, while 18 countries recorded increases of more than 20%.
Bulgaria suffered the largest annual rise at 34.5%, followed by Lithuania at 28.8%, Finland at 27.6%, Germany at 27.5% and France at 27.4%.
At the other end of the table, Hungary recorded the smallest increase at just 1.3%. Sweden followed with 6.1%, while Ireland registered an 11.7% rise.
Diesel drivers also faced another expensive month. Across the EU, diesel prices increased by 8.3% between July and August, while petrol rose by an average of 3.3%.
Diesel became more expensive in 26 EU countries, with Czechia recording the biggest monthly jump at 14.3%. Bulgaria followed at 13.5% and Luxembourg at 12.3%. The smallest increases were recorded in Italy at 5.2%, Romania at 6.1% and the Netherlands at 6.2%.
Petrol prices rose in 22 countries, remained unchanged in two, and fell slightly in three. Hungary recorded a 0.6% decrease, Denmark a 0.3% drop and Slovakia a marginal decline of 0.1%.
For Cypriot motorists, however, there was no such relief. With the island’s monthly increase almost twice the EU average, the latest figures offer a fairly simple explanation for why the numbers on the petrol pump seemed to move so quickly in August.
*Source: European Commission
