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.

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

The post Fuel price in Albania surpasses 2 euros, highest in the region; Serbia reinstates support measures appeared first on Albeu.com.

In a public post, she said these attacks on the reforms stem from groups that, according to her, for years benefited from the lack of control, competition and state oversight.

Hajdari rejected claims about the removal of inspection bodies, stressing that imported petroleum products continue to be checked by Kosovo Customs, while sampling is carried out by authorized conformity assessment bodies.

She added that quality testing is conducted at the state laboratory of Kosovo Customs, which she described as a modern and accredited laboratory.

“The facts against these low defamations are clear. The claims published by some portals about the alleged ‘removal of inspection bodies’ do not stand. Because the truth is completely different: Today, imported petroleum products are controlled by Kosovo Customs, while the sampling of these petroleum products from imports upon entry into Kosovo continues to be carried out by conformity assessment bodies (CABs), authorized under the legislation in force. Meanwhile, for the domestic market of petroleum products, samples for testing these products are taken by inspectors of the Central Market Surveillance Inspectorate,” Hajdari said.

She also published her full response, under the title: “Market reforms and the rule of law are not stopped by the defamation of those who defend the old corrupt monopolies.”

In this response, Hajdari said that in recent days a coordinated defamation campaign has been carried out by portals which, according to her, are seeking to protect the interests of certain groups by misleading the public regarding the legal reforms introduced through the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade (MIET) during the Kurti 2 government, which, according to her, restored control and quality testing of petroleum products in line with the highest quality standards.

According to her, these attacks are not random, since the reforms undertaken directly affect the interests of those who for years benefited from the lack of order, competition and state oversight. She said these practices generated illegal profits and built monopolistic schemes that, in essence, had privatized vital state functions.

Hajdari stressed that with the approval of Law No. 08/L-018 on Trade in Petroleum Products and Renewable Fuels, which had been pending for more than 10 years, the foundations of a regulated, transparent and competitive market were laid. She underlined that, for the first time, clear standards were defined for the entire supply chain, from import to sale, in line with European standards.

She also mentioned Administrative Instruction (Government) No. 05/2025, on the method of appointing Conformity Assessment Bodies, as one of the most important legal changes, saying that this act put an end to the practice of analyses with non-unified standards and high costs for businesses.

According to her, conformity assessment is now carried out only by accredited bodies (CABs) and under institutional supervision.

Hajdari repeated that claims about the “removal of inspection bodies” are untrue, clarifying that imported petroleum products are controlled by Kosovo Customs, while their sampling upon entry into Kosovo continues to be carried out by conformity assessment bodies (CABs), authorized under the legislation in force.

She added that, for the domestic market of petroleum products, samples for testing are taken by inspectors of the Central Market Surveillance Inspectorate.

She further explained that quality testing of petroleum products, both from imports upon entry at Kosovo’s border and in the domestic market, is carried out at the professional, accredited laboratory equipped with the most modern state technology within Kosovo Customs. According to her, this state laboratory, which is the best equipped with many testing parameters, takes part in numerous activities of the European Customs Laboratories Network (CLEN).

She said this has put an end to the practice of quality control remaining in the hands of private laboratories without unified standards, which, according to her, had created high costs for businesses and insecurity for citizens, while the Customs laboratory had been left out of operation despite capital investments worth millions of euros from the budget of the Republic of Kosovo.

Hajdari also listed the concrete results of the reforms, saying that 98% of petroleum products sales points are licensed.

She also stressed that the duration of permits and licenses for trade in petroleum products has been extended from 2 to 6 years.

According to her, fees for trade in petroleum products have been reduced from 500 to 5,000, as they were before, to 50 euros for all types of permits.

Likewise, she said that quality testing of petroleum products is carried out at the state Customs laboratory, with no financial cost to businesses.

In her response, Hajdari also added that four refineries that did not meet the standards have been closed.

She said those who are attacking these reforms today should answer citizens on three issues: why the Oil Law was not approved for more than a decade, why only around 60% of petroleum product sales points were licensed, and why quality control of petroleum products was not unified under standards from private CABs and came with high costs for businesses.

Hajdari stated that abuses in the oil sector are the subject of ongoing court proceedings. She said that precisely over abuses related to sampling for oil quality testing, one of the former ministers of the Ministry of Trade and Industry has recently been convicted by the court.

Regarding insinuations about the recent investigations, she assured citizens that the authorities had full control of the situation. According to her, under their leadership, institutions did not cooperate with criminals, but investigated and arrested them.

She stressed that the rule of law established, according to her, guarantees that no citizen will be extorted any longer through suspicious processes and high and illegal payments.

In conclusion, Hajdari declared that reforms for a regulated, safe market with European standards will not be reversed.

She announced that the drafts finalized by MIET during 2025, awaiting approval by the Government and the Assembly, for the draft law amending and supplementing Law No. 08/L-018 on Trade in Petroleum Products and Renewable Fuels, together with the finalized draft of the Administrative Instruction on the Quality of Liquid Petroleum Fuels, will further advance the reform in the trade and quality supervision of petroleum products and renewable fuels, with the aim of increasing consumer safety, reducing non-standard petroleum products on the market, strengthening fair competition and aligning with European quality standards for petroleum products.

At the end, she warned that legal avenues will be pursued for every defamation and piece of disinformation that undermines the work of institutions and seeks to protect illegal interests.

According to Hajdari, the interest of the citizens and of the Republic of Kosovo stands above every private interest.

The post Rozeta Hajdari: Defamation Will Not Stop Reforms in the Oil Market, We Will Pursue Legal Action appeared first on Albeu.com.

Hoxha claims that the suspected mechanism worked in such a way that the oil was registered in documents as an import for Kosovo, but in fact was unloaded in Albania and then traded on the black market. According to his claims, the tankers were later filled with water and entered Kosovo in order to cover up the traces.

He also stresses that at an early stage the company Exfis had been mentioned as well, but according to him this was done unfairly. Hoxha adds that it remains to be clarified by the official investigation which companies will turn out to have been involved.

Hoxha’s post:

The criminal scheme of money laundering through oil imports seems to be reaching an epilogue, as the Prosecutor’s Office and the Kosovo Police today carried out an operation in 40 locations across the country to uncover this scheme.

How did the scheme work?

Tons of oil loaded for import into Kosovo, transiting through Albania, were month after month appearing as oil entering the country for market needs.

Since Albania has higher VAT and excise tax on oil, one or several importing companies had found a formula for manipulation.

1. On paper, the oil appeared to be imported into Kosovo.

2. The oil was unloaded in Albania and distributed on the black oil market.

3. The tankers were filled with water and entered Kosovo in order to cover up the crime.

The scheme began to look suspicious when the stocks of oil companies could no longer justify the allegedly imported oil, because market demand was not that high.

This news began circulating in Kosovo several months ago. At first, it seems unfairly, Exfis was mentioned as a participant in this scheme. But when “professional” journalists got information about whose trucks were caught in the fraud, they started keeping quiet.

Today, seeing which portal is publishing and then removing news about this economic crime (figures in the millions), the chances are that one of the biggest petroleum companies is behind this scheme.

Let’s see. 😉

The post Dibran Hoxha Raises Suspicions of Fraud in Oil Imports: According to Him, This Is How the Scheme Is Suspected to Have Operated appeared first on Albeu.com.