Bulgaria Has Seen the Largest Rise in Fuel Prices in the EU

Bulgaria leads the European Union (EU) in fuel price increases for the month of May. This is according to data from the European statistical office Eurostat, published on Monday. According to the data, last month the price of fuels and lubricants in Bulgaria rose by 33.9% compared to May 2025. Following Bulgaria are Luxembourg (32.2% increase), Lithuania (30.8%), and Romania (30.4%).

By comparison, Hungary is at the bottom of the list with a 3.5% increase, but Poland follows closely behind with a rise of about 13%.

As Economic.bg reported, in recent days the price of crude oil on international markets has fallen amid progress toward a final agreement between the U.S. and Iran. At the same time, this development has not yet been reflected in prices at the pump, and the reason lies in the mechanics of the market itself – if oil prices rise, fuel prices rise along with it; that is, when the price goes up, retailers raise their prices accordingly so they will subsequently have enough money to buy the same amount of fuel.

When oil prices fall, however, retailers cannot automatically lower their prices because the product was purchased at a high price.

Diesel is getting cheaper, but gasoline is getting more expensive

As for diesel and gasoline prices in the EU, in May 2026 they were 29% and 16.2% higher, respectively, compared to May 2025. In April 2026, diesel prices rose by 33.7%, while gasoline prices rose by 13.6%.

On a month-over-month basis, however, EU consumers saw a 5.8% decline in diesel prices, while gasoline prices rose again, albeit by only 0.8% compared to April 2026. In April 2026, diesel prices rose by 7.9% and gasoline prices by 2.4% compared to March 2026.

Between April and May 2026, diesel prices rose only in Romania (+1.6%), while they fell in all other EU countries. The largest decreases were recorded in Germany (-11.9%), Greece (-8.5%), Estonia (-8.4%), and Ireland (-8.1%), while the smallest decreases were in Bulgaria (-0.7%), Hungary (-0.9%), and Cyprus (-1.5%).

As for gasoline prices, 23 EU countries recorded an increase between April and May 2026, with the rise ranging from +6.9% in Italy to +0.1% in Croatia and Hungary. On the other hand, Germany (-5.6%), Ireland (-2.0%), and Sweden (-0.7%) reported a decrease in prices in May compared to the previous month.

Translated with DeepL.