Diesel price hits record €1.997 a litre as fuel groups call for VAT cut

Nicosia, Cyprus. The average pump price of diesel reached a record €1.997 a litre on Friday, prompting fuel industry groups to renew calls for a VAT cut. Heating oil also hit a record high.

Fuel prices

Figures from the consumer protection service showed diesel selling for between €1.879 and €2.098 a litre across the island. The average surpassed the previous record of €1.989, set in July 2022.

Heating oil was selling for between €1.489 and €1.735 a litre, averaging €1.608, above its previous high of €1.515 in July 2022. Unleaded 95 petrol averaged €1.718 a litre, below its 2022 peak of €1.828.

Further increases expected

Consumers Association president Marios Drousiotis said more than 100 petrol stations nationwide were already charging over €2 a litre for diesel. He predicted the average would exceed €2 by Saturday.

Drousiotis said price increases typically take two to three days to spread through the network because stations do not all apply a company’s announced increase on the same day. Petrol Station Owners Association president Savvas Prokopiou said stations that had not yet raised prices were likely to do so on Monday rather than over the weekend.

Calls for VAT reduction

Both Drousiotis and Prokopiou urged the government to reduce VAT on fuel. Drousiotis said the price rises meant the state was collecting an additional 7.5 cents a litre in VAT on petrol, 11 cents on diesel and 12.34 cents on heating oil.

He said the additional revenue should be returned to consumers and argued that any planned heating oil subsidy should reach households rather than be absorbed by stations. Drousiotis said the government could cut VAT on fuel from 19 per cent to 5 per cent, as it had done for electricity, without European Commission approval.