People from the industry predict a 10 euro cent increase in fuel prices in the coming weeks due to military actions in the Middle East. The Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association points out that the price of fuel also depends on many other factors and for now there is no concern.
"It is normal to be worried - I have children, I have grandchildren. The bad thing is that nothing depends on us. What does it depend on the little guy“, commented Dragomir Mitov, quoted by news.bg.
The Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association assures that for the moment there is no room for concern and there are fuel reserves. They added that there can be no speculation on prices in the sector.
„In order for there to be a reflection on the price of fuel in the country, crude oil must remain at higher or lower levels stably for at least 10-14 days. At least for the moment there are absolutely no problems with fuel supplies. Let there be no panic... Everything is really under control“, points out Svetoslav Benchev, Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association.
However, the queue of 40-50 tankers at the entrance to the fuel base in Iliyantsi suggests a rise in fuel prices. The wait today is for hours.
„It is extremely rare when the price of fuel is usually raised. Then there is a queue. Otherwise, there are usually 4-5 trucks“, commented Georgi Panayotov, a tanker driver.
“People are really worried – they ask at the gas station if there will be fuel, what the price will be… But consumption has not increased“, points out Yulian Valchev, a gas station manager.
The industry assured that there is no fuel shortage. And according to economists, if gasoline and diesel prices increase by 10 percent, the price increase for other goods and services will be about one percent.
“Such a change obviously will not have a very dramatic effect on household budgets, but nevertheless inflation is always cumulative“, says Adrian Nikolov, senior economist at the Institute for Market Economics.
Goods and services would become more expensive 2-3 weeks after a fuel price increase. This would be most visible for products with higher transportation costs. People in smaller and more remote settlements would be most affected.