Oil prices have risen again in recent days on international exchanges, driven by escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and fears of supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.
Benchmark Brent rose to nearly $85 per barrel, while U.S. WTI crude reached around $80, the highest levels in nearly a month. Markets reacted after the resumption of the U.S. blockade on Iranian vessels and new attacks in the region.
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The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important energy transport routes, through which about one-fifth of global oil flows pass.
Any disruption in this corridor could restrict supply and increase transport and insurance costs. Additional pressure has also come from Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and transport facilities, which have curtailed fuel exports.
International prices for refined petroleum products, particularly diesel, have risen more sharply than crude oil prices, being reflected more quickly in wholesale prices and subsequently at retail outlets.
The rise in oil prices on exchanges has also been reflected in countries across the region.
In Albania, diesel rose to 196-198 lek per litre, slightly exceeding the 2-euro threshold. Operators said the movement was linked to the increase in the Platts benchmark, which reached $1,203 per tonne yesterday, according to Customs data, under the CIF indicator, including insurance and transport, up from 952 euros on June 30.
This cost is also supplemented by a $30 premium. The highest Platts benchmark level since the beginning of the war was reached in April, at $1,600.
Albania continues to have the highest fuel price in the region, which operators say is linked to the heavy tax burden, with half of the price consisting of taxes. In Albania, the element that adds most to the tax burden is the circulation tax of 27 lek per litre.
The excise duty is fixed at 39.4 lek per litre, while the carbon tax is 3 lek. VAT is then calculated on top of these, at 20% of the final price, including other taxes, unlike in the region, where VAT is not charged on other taxes. In other countries in the region, taxes account for around one-third of the price.
The country’s lowest price since the start of the war was 176 lek, from June 17, under the last decision of the Transparency Board, until early July. It then rose several times, once again approaching the 200-lek threshold, the highest level since May 20.
According to the Transparency Board’s formula, which was discontinued on June 19, if the retail diesel price is calculated using yesterday’s CIF indicators, it comes to 198 lek per litre, while under FOB, or free on board, it should have been 5 lek cheaper.
In Serbia, diesel costs around 1.82-1.87 euros per litre and petrol costs 1.66 euros per litre. According to Monitor’s correspondent, the government has reinstated support measures following the increase in fuel prices on international exchanges.
The measures stipulate that the price of one litre of Eurodiesel must not exceed the cap of 220 dinars, or around 1.87 euros per litre, until Friday, July 17. Meanwhile, the price of Europremium BMB petrol will be 196 dinars, or around 1.67 euros per litre.
The Serbian government recently amended its decision on the temporary ban on exports of oil and its derivatives, extending the measure until July 31. Due to the renewed rise in oil prices on international markets, the Finance Ministry announced that it would further reduce excise duties on fuels.
The ministry said that, in addition to the existing 5% reduction, an additional cut has been applied since July 13, bringing the total excise duty reduction to 10%. This measure has prevented fuel prices in Serbia from increasing during the latest wave of price hikes.
In North Macedonia, diesel costs 1.42 euros per litre, while petrol is sold for between 1.41 and 1.44 euros per litre. According to Monitor’s correspondent, diesel prices rose by 0.10 euros per litre this week. North Macedonia no longer has VAT exemptions or excise duty reductions.
In Montenegro, diesel prices reached between 1.58 and 1.68 euros per litre yesterday, with the benchmark fuel, Eurosuper, selling for 1.64 euros per litre. Prices have risen by 0.02-0.09 euros per litre.
Since June 3, the government has reinstated the full excise duty of 44 cents on Eurodiesel, while for the two types of petrol it raised the excise duty to 95% of the full rate, or 52.15 cents per litre, from 54.9 cents per litre, which is the full rate. Prices are calculated weekly by the relevant ministry.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the diesel price yesterday was 2.74 marks, or 1.4 euros. The Bosnian government has not yet approved measures to reduce fuel taxes.
In Kosovo, the Ministry of Industry publishes the maximum permitted prices for petroleum products every day. Under yesterday’s decision, the cap for diesel is 1.56 euros per litre and for petrol 1.4 euros per litre. Diesel prices have risen by 12 cents in recent days, while on July 9 they stood at 1.44 euros.
Albania applied fewer support measures than other countries in the region.
The Albanian government reactivated the Transparency Board on March 26, before shutting it down on June 19. While it justified the decision by saying that its mission had ended after prices fell on international exchanges, a stronger reason was linked to a letter addressed to the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance and Prime Minister Edi Rama, in which the largest importing companies said that, after their requests to revise the price methodology and gross margins were not taken into account, they had set out their position, including the possibility of taking the case to court.
The main complaint concerned the methodology, under which the government used the Platts FOB, or Free on Board, purchase price for oil as a basis. The methodology, approved in 2022, did not reflect the fact that since 2024 international trading companies no longer operate under FOB contracts, but under CIF contracts, which include transport and insurance and increase the purchase price by $45-50 per tonne.
In March, when prices on exchanges rose significantly, the Albanian government was among the countries in the region that applied the fewest measures to cushion the increase in fuel prices. The crisis imported from the Middle East forced Western Balkan governments to act quickly by cutting taxes, reducing excise duties and limiting margins to curb the new wave of price increases.
Albania again remained the exception, with a delayed response and a limited fiscal measure that had no real impact on prices. Meanwhile, countries such as North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia managed to keep diesel up to 40 lek per litre cheaper than in Albania, also attracting supplies from across the border.
North Macedonia and Montenegro began implementing VAT and excise duty reductions around 22 days after the start of the war, keeping retail diesel prices up to 40 euro cents, or around 40 lek, lower than in Albania, once again prompting a wave of fuel-supply “migration.”
Compared with these countries, Albania adopted only a limited fiscal measure: a 20% reduction in fuel excise duty if the retail diesel price exceeds 220 lek per litre. For petrol, the measure applies if the price exceeds 200 lek per litre. /Monitor
Prices in Montenegro, as of yesterday
EUROSUPER 98: 1.68 euros, +0.02
EUROSUPER 95: 1.64 euros, +0.02
EURODIESEL: 1.67 euros, +0.09
HEATING OIL: 1.58 euros, +0.07
Prices in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Fuel prices in Kosovo
