Serbia fuel prices to July 3: petrol up two dinars

A litre of euro premium petrol now costs no more than 193 dinars, two dinars above the previous billing period, while euro diesel holds at a cap of 217 dinars per litre. The new maximum prices were set by the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade at its session on June 26 and apply through Friday, July 3.

For a driver who fills a 50-litre petrol tank once a week, a two-dinar increase per litre means 100 dinars more per fill-up. Over a month that works out to roughly 430 dinars in added cost for an average single-car household running on petrol. Diesel users start the week with no change at the pump, which for now shields the largest share of the country’s vehicle fleet, since diesel remains the dominant fuel for both private drivers and transport.

The ministry sets fuel prices in weekly intervals, tracking the movement of oil product quotations on the international market and the dinar’s exchange rate against the dollar, the currency in which crude is priced. The split between petrol rising and diesel standing still shows the shift is not down to a single factor but a sum of several: the price of crude, refining and logistics margins, and the fiscal burden through excise and value-added tax.

Why is petrol rising while diesel holds?

The answer lies in the structure of the products market, where petrol and diesel are formed as separate products with different supply and demand. Euro premium petrol quotations on the reference market in Rotterdam have risen in recent weeks during the summer season, when demand for petrol climbs on heavier travel, while diesel follows a steadier path over the same period. The maximum price the ministry publishes tracks those quotations with a short lag.

Supply is the second layer on the domestic price. NIS, the only refining capacity in Serbia, operates under sanctions that complicate crude procurement and payment, so part of supply is redirected to imports of finished products. Import logistics carry extra costs that feed into the retail price through the margin. On top of that, the removal of an excise discount has been announced, which in the coming billing periods could push the pump price higher regardless of crude movements.

How much does this weigh on the household budget?

Fuel is one of the few spending items where a price change is felt at once, since it is paid in cash or by card on the spot, with no delay. For a household that drives roughly 1,500 kilometres a month in a petrol car, the fuel bill at current prices runs around 14,000 to 16,000 dinars, depending on consumption. Two dinars per litre does not change that picture dramatically, but it fits a wider trend in which petrol prices edge up in small steps through spring and summer.

The bigger risk for consumers is not this week’s two-dinar rise but the announced removal of the excise discount. Excise is a fixed amount per litre and does not depend on the price of crude, so an increase raises the pump price directly and permanently for all drivers at once, unlike quotations that swing both ways. The ministry’s next session, scheduled once this billing period ends on Friday, will show whether the trend continues or the price returns to its earlier level.

How much do you spend on fuel each month, and have you already changed your driving habits because of the price at the pump?