Eurostat: Price of fuels in EU increased 12.9% in March 2026 y/y

In March 2026, the price of fuels and lubricants in the European Union increased by 12.9 per cent compared with March 2025, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on April 21.

Almost all EU countries saw price increases compared with March 2025 as well, Eurostat said.

The highest increases were recorded in Germany (+19.8 per cent), Romania (+19.6 per cent), the Netherlands (+18.8 per cent), Latvia (+18.5 per cent) and Austria (+17.2 per cent).

In Hungary and Slovenia, prices decreased by 2.7 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively, compared with March 2025; however, compared with February 2026, the decrease was not as pronounced, the statistics agency said.

Looking at diesel and petrol prices in the EU, in March 2026, they increased by 19.8 per cent for diesel and 9.4 per cent for petrol compared with March 2025.

On a monthly basis, consumers saw diesel prices rise by 19.1 per cent and petrol prices rise by 10.6 per cent in the EU compared with February 2026. 

Prices for both types of fuel went up in all EU countries between February and March 2026.

For diesel, the highest increases were in Czechia and Sweden (both +27.6 per cent), Estonia (+26.8 per cent), Latvia (+25.4 per cent), Belgium (+25.2 per cent) and the Netherlands (+25.1 per cent), while the lowest increases were in Slovenia (+2.9 per cent), Slovakia and Hungary (both +7.0 per cent). All other EU countries saw increases above 10 per cent. 

Among EU countries, petrol prices increases were not as high as those in diesel prices, reaching +15.1 per cent in Belgium, +15.0 per cent in Sweden, +14.8 per cent in Austria, +14.6 per cent in Czechia and +14.2 per cent in Estonia and Lithuania.

Again, the lowest monthly increases were registered in Slovenia (+2.4 per cent), Slovakia (+3.8 per cent), Hungary (+4.7 per cent), as well as Italy (+4.8 per cent), Eurostat said.

(Photo: Kiril Havezov/ sxc.hu)