Balkan Drivers Fuming Over Rising Cost of Fuel

Car owners in the Balkans are fuming over the rising price of fuel and threatening to protest this month, piling pressure on governments to rein in costs to consumers who fear a knock-on effect on the price of food and other goods.

Oil prices hit three-and-a-half year highs last month, twice topping $80 per barrel and pushing up prices at fuel pumps.

Consumers in the Balkans are particularly sensitive to price rises given their low relative incomes.

More than 2,000 Bosnians have joined a Facebook group called 'Stop fuel price increase'  that is calling on drivers to stop their cars and turn off their engines wherever they might be at 5 p.m. on June 10.

In Serbia, drivers are expected to protest on June 8 by blocking streets in the capital, Belgrade, regional N1 television reported on Tuesday. There, the price of petrol rose 4.8 percent last month while diesel was 6.2 percent more expensive.

A litre of 95 octane petrol in Serbia costs around 1.3 euros, rising to 1.4 euros for better quality petrol, in a country where the average net salary is 459 euros.

According to data from the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia, the current average price of fuel in Bosnia is 1.15 euros per litre. The average salary after tax is just over 400 euros.

"If fuel prices go beyond 1.25 euros it will affect the cost of food, making it so expensive it will be like living in Switzerland," read one post on the Facebook group.

In Montenegro, where the average net salary is just over 500 euros per month, fuel costs on average 1.4 euros per litre, according to Monstat, the state statistics agency.

Though drivers in Montenegro have yet to announce any protests, their anger is evident on social media, and the country's Economy Ministry has said...