The most significant daily increase in fuel prices since the beginning of the Iran war occurred on Thursday night into Friday, as shown by data analyzed by Profit.ro.
The increases were particularly strong, especially for diesel, in the context of tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices.
Accelerated overnight price hikes
The oil companies quickly raised prices, differentially. Lukoil increased diesel prices by 35 bani/l, while Rompetrol raised them by 21 bani/l, whereas the market leader, OMV Petrom, implemented an increase of approximately 19 bani/l for diesel and 15 bani/l for gasoline.
Other networks - MOL and Socar - adjusted prices in the same direction, indicating that the market is synchronously reacting to external shocks.
Current gasoline and diesel prices
Following the latest increases, standard diesel has reached approximately 9.57–9.60 lei/l at Petrom stations, while at Lukoil it already exceeds 9.62–9.63 lei/l.
Standard gasoline is approaching the 9 lei/l threshold, being sold at Petrom stations for around 8.94–8.96 lei/l, and in some premium networks, it has already surpassed this level.
For premium fuels, the psychological threshold of 10 lei/l has been exceeded: premium diesel has surpassed 10 lei/l in several networks, including Petrom and OMV.
Iran war pushes prices up
The increases are fueled by the sharp rise in international quotations. Brent crude oil recently exceeded $119/barrel, amid attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
The conflict between Israel and Iran has directly impacted energy production and transportation in the region, quickly reflected in pump prices in Europe.
Massive price hikes since the beginning of the conflict
Since the start of the Iran war, standard diesel has increased by over 1.3 lei/l, approximately 16%, while gasoline has risen by about 1 leu/l.
Even so, the increases in Romania remain below those in Western Europe, where some markets have experienced hikes of up to 20%, as pointed out by Profit.ro.