Over the weekend, the Hungarian Government has extended the retail price cap on fuels for another three months, namely until 15 May. The measure forces petrol stations to sell fuels at the maximum price of 1.34 euros/liter. However, many experts have warned about the detrimental effect of this measure on the Hungarian retail fuel sector, as many, primarily independent, operators are facing bankruptcy.
The purchase price of fuel will certainly continue to rise, which will further aggravate the situation on the domestic fuel market, as operators cannot be expected to sell the fuel with constant losses. As a result, quantity restrictions can be expected, but it is also possible that a considerable number of petrol stations will have to be shut down. The revenues that Hungarian petrol stations generate in adjacent stores does not compensate for their losses, and many operators do not have such stores at all.
The largest player in the retail fuel market MOL has already indicated that they would take over some of petrol stations in difficult situation.
