Croatia Freezes Petrol and Diesel Prices for 30 Days

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced on Thursday that diesel and petrol prices will be frozen for 30 days as part of an effort to control soaring prices.

"We have, taking into consideration the economic circumstances and the unpredictability of oil prices, and, with the aim of maintaining economic recovery, decided to stabilise petrol and diesel prices," he said.

"We will cap the prices at 11.10 kuna [1,48 euro], HRK, for [1 litre of] petrol and HRK 11 for diesel [1,46 euro]," Plenković told the cabinet. He added that the government would closely monitor the situation and trends on global markets and take further steps as necessary.

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćor added that there are indications that fuel prices will continue to rise, "which is why we decided to use our legal possibility to cap the retail price. We believe that the prices will stabilise in the following 30 days and that after that period the economy will continue to function normally. We also believe we can withstand the expense, i.e. the effects of this administrative limitation," he said.

Media reported the head of the union at Zagreb Electric Tram, ZET, Dražen Jović, as saying that the price of tram and bus tickets in Zagreb would have to increase due to rise in prices of energy-generated products and construction material, as well as inflation. The current price for a half-an-hour ride is HRK 4, which is a popular price.

Fuel prices rose considerably in Croatia on Tuesday, reaching its highest price in the history. According to the website cijenegoriva.info, the price of Eurosuper 95 rose by HRK 0.26 [0,035 euro] on average compared to last week, the price of diesel rose by HRK 0.40 [0,053...

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