The price of fuel has not reached its peak. Bulgaria is still at the bottom of fuel prices, catching up with the average levels in the EU, we have not yet seen the average values. This was stated by energy expert Martin Vladimirov from the Center for the Study of Democracy on BNT.
According to him, measures should be introduced to limit fuel consumption so that there is no shock increase in the price of other goods. One of the measures is the introduction of free public transport.
Economist Petar Ganev from the Institute for Market Economics is of the opinion: “It seems that this will last for a long time. The fact that the market follows Trump's statements does not mean that there is complete calm.“
He pointed out the important conditions for effective measures: that they be timely, targeted and have a limited time frame.
According to Vladimirov, the most correct thing is to support the poorest families.
„Bulgaria is not one of the most affected by the price of fertilizers, because we still import Russian fertilizers. We should not interfere in the price of fuels - if we do not want to cause a shortage, which is already looming for some European countries. With a cap on the price of fuels, we will break the market extremely quickly. VAT and excise duty should not be touched. We must encourage a reduction in consumption“, Vladimirov is categorical.
According to him, if the Strait of Hormuz is unblocked today, which will not actually happen, we will see a reflection in prices only in the fall. He added that we are currently expecting a big wave of price increases. We are heading towards 2 euros per liter of diesel, while gasoline will not see such an increase.
Ganev specified that it is not clear whether there will be a new budget after the elections: “We may go a whole year without a budget. In addition to energy experts and the minister monitoring carefully, the state must have a base of indicators that it can monitor daily – in the offices on the other hand, the revenues of the National Revenue Agency. If this spills over into the economy and turns the direction into a negative trajectory – recession, this should be caught very early. If we go to $150 per oil, there are estimates of the risk of recession.“