ANDREY DELCHEV: THE TENDENCY IS THAT FUEL PRICES WILL INCREASE MORE

Significant jump in fuel prices at gas stations. Mass fuels for one year have risen in price by more than BGN 0.50 per liter or 30%.

The increase in the price of A 95 petrol is BGN 0.60. At the beginning of last year it cost a little over BGN 1.84, and now it exceeds BGN 2.40.

With diesel, the increase is even greater. Last January, its price started at BGN 1.84 per liter, and now it is BGN 2.48 per liter. In percentage this is an increase of almost 35%.

Propane-butane is drastically more expensive. From BGN 0.90 it is now over BGN 1.40 per liter.

The most drastic is the increase in methane. There, the increase in recent days is about BGN 0.50 - currently it is about BGN 2.92 per liter, so it is approaching BGN 3.

"The tendency is rather to increase the price of fuels, although in the last week there has been virtually no change. However, this calm is deceptive," Andrey Delchev of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association said in an interview for bTV.

According to him, all the factors point in the direction of increasing the price of fuels and mainly the price of crude oil, which is going up sharply.

"I strongly hope that we will not reach the psychological barrier of BGN 3 per liter of gasoline and diesel," Delchev said.

"Consumption of liquid fuels is currently the same as in 2019 before the crisis, i.e. it has reached pre-crisis levels, and production lags far behind," he said.

In this sense, there is currently a danger of a shortage of crude oil and this is the main reason why prices are going up.

"The refineries have slowed down the increase in their production. OPEC has decided to increase by relatively small quantities - 400,000 barrels per day. They do not cover the sharply increased demand, as Omicron does not restrict business," said Andrey Delchev.

According to him, there is no danger of queuing for fuel, as Bulgaria currently imports the necessary quantities.