Fuel prices in Cyprus are expected to rise further, with consumers already facing sharp increases in 95-octane petrol, diesel and heating oil, the latter of which has surpassed its previous record high.
Petrol station owners, importers and consumer representatives all expect further upward pressure, although they differ over the factors driving prices and the measures the government should take.
Further increases expected
Petrol Station Owners Association president Savvas Procopiou said successive price increases are affecting both the fuel sector and the wider economy.
Based on recent trends, he expects several further increases, although their precise size remains uncertain.
Recent increases have generally been around one to two cents per litre, he said, suggesting further rises of a similar scale could follow before prices potentially stabilise or decline.
Procopiou said responsibility for monitoring prices lies with the Consumer Protection Service and fuel importing companies.
Calls for targeted government support
Asked whether the Finance Ministry should intervene beyond the reduction in excise duty, Procopiou said any additional measures should primarily target vulnerable groups.
However, he added that a further general reduction in taxation could also be considered if public finances allow.
Petrol station owners are proposing a mechanism under which fuel taxes would automatically be reduced once prices exceed a predetermined level, at least by the 8.33 cents currently applied.
Petrolina says margins are low
Petrolina executive CEO Dinos Lefkaritis described the petroleum market as inherently unpredictable, with prices capable of moving sharply in either direction in response to international developments.
He acknowledged that the current trend is upward but argued that Cyprus remains comparatively well positioned, pointing to fuel prices above €2 per litre in parts of Greece.
Lefkaritis also said profit margins for fuel companies in Cyprus are currently very low.
He maintained that Petrolina, as a Cypriot company, is trying to keep prices as low as possible.
Cyprus prices not directly tied to Brent
Lefkaritis also rejected the assumption that retail fuel prices in Cyprus directly track Brent crude.
Cyprus has not operated a refinery since 2004, meaning companies import finished petroleum products rather than crude oil for domestic refining.
As a result, he said, importers work primarily with Platts prices for refined petroleum products, rather than directly with crude oil benchmarks.
If refineries in places such as Haifa or Greece increase their prices, he said, Cypriot importers face corresponding increases in their purchasing costs.
Lefkaritis noted that Petrolina had opposed the closure of Cyprus' refinery in 2004 but its objections were not accepted.
Petrol up 34.8 cents since March
Cyprus Consumers Association president Marios Drousiotis provided figures illustrating the scale of the increases since 1 March 2026.
The price of 95-octane petrol rose from €1.315 per litre on 1 March to €1.663 on 17 September, an increase of 34.8 cents per litre.
Diesel increased from €1.413 to €1.925 per litre over the same period, representing a rise of approximately 51.4 cents.
Heating oil recorded the steepest increase, climbing from €0.95 to €1.556 per litre, a rise of 60.6 cents.
Heating oil breaks previous record
Drousiotis said the previous all-time highs for fuel prices were recorded in July 2022.
At the time, petrol reached €1.828 per litre, while diesel climbed to €1.989.
Heating oil reached €1.515 per litre during that period.
At its current price of €1.556, heating oil is now around four cents above its previous record.
"We have broken the barrier," Drousiotis said.
Consumers call for heating oil subsidy
Drousiotis warned that further fuel price increases are expected over the next two weeks and called for additional government assistance with heating oil.
The Consumers Association wants heating oil to receive a specific subsidy in addition to the existing excise duty reduction because of its particularly high price.
Drousiotis also called on the Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry to ensure that any future subsidy reaches consumers in full rather than being absorbed elsewhere in the supply chain.
He cited the fuel subsidy introduced in April, when petrol and diesel were subsidised by 8.33 cents per litre.
According to Drousiotis, 19 petrol stations did not reduce their prices at all, while 97 reduced them by less than the full 8.33 cents, which he argued meant that part of the subsidy did not reach consumers.
With another round of increases anticipated, pressure is now building on the government to determine whether further intervention is needed, particularly ahead of the colder months when demand for heating oil is expected to rise.
Source: CNA
