[size=55:34kkg2gt]Sofia echo

Bulgaria's fuel prices soar on global oil shocks

The impact of the sharp rise in global oil prices, prompted by the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, has spread to Bulgaria over the past month, with fuel prices at local petrol stations increasing by 10 stotinki a litre.

Since the beginning of the year, fuel prices have grown by between 20 stotinki and 30 stotinki, or about 10 per cent, on average to between 2.40 leva and 2.60 leva a litre.

Bulgarian fuel prices have now surged to their highest level in the past two years, nearing the record rates seen in the summer of 2008, when global oil prices stood at over $147 a barrel.

On February 24, brent crude prices continued to trend higher on the international markets, hitting $119 a barrel before falling back to $115.

The rise in fuel prices is affecting most severely the transport and agriculture sectors in Bulgaria and has made some the companies increase the prices of their products and services, according to a survey by Dnevnik.

Economists, however, said that the higher fuel prices would not lead to a rise in inflation and projected that the price shock would be temporary.

[size=45:2lpdqzeh]novinite

Fuel Prices in Bulgaria Break All-time Records

Fuel prices in Bulgaria have reached their highest levels ever registered on the market, the Chair of the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association, Andrey Delchev, reported Tuesday.

Delchev, cited by the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, says premium diesel now costs BGN 2.5 to 2.54 while gasoline is BGN 2.35 to BGN 2.4.

The Association's Chair further warns the sky-rocketing oil prices will trigger an increase of the price of natural gas as an alternative fuel, but adds this hike would not have the same dimensions as the one of petroleum..

According to Bulgarian experts, the market will recover before prices reach USD 200 per barrel, as international forecasts show.

When asked how high can fuel prices go and how much the local market can absorb, Delchev pointed out transportation companies have no choice but to keep their business running all while sustaining losses while vehicles for personal use depend on the income level of each individual.

The Association's Chair, however, believes there would not be a reduction of the number of people using their auto mobiles in the initial several weeks of the price hike.

Bulgarian carrier and cargo companies already warned about protest rallies and roadblocks over the uncontrolled price increase of fuels, saying fuels currently on the market have been imported way before the Libyan crisis.

Energy and Economy Minister, Traicho Traikov, said Tuesday for Darik radio fuel prices in Bulgaria are the lowest in Europe and if Lukoil ups them further, import of raw material from abroad is always an option.

Traikov voiced his belief fuel prices on the international market would stop going up soon, and advised those who believe there is a cartel situation over the fuel prices in the country to approach the Commission for Competition Protection.

Some Bulgarian economists, however, are not as optimistic, and warn Bulgaria, as an open economy, could face strong consequences including a slowdown in its economic growth.

Lachezar Bogdanov, managing partner of "
Industry Watch,"
says fuel prices are going up not only over the situation in Libya, but due to a number of other international factors.

"
No one should rely solely on the stabilization of Libya as the only condition for prices to go down again,"
Bogdanov points out.

[size=55:1y8njk7e]Sofia echo

b]Fuel fury[/b]

Consumers and road carriers are backing a protest against a sudden soar in fuel prices in Bulgaria, but prospects of state intervention appear slim with senior officials citing instability in oil-producing countries and not speculation as the cause of the increases.

A protest organised by a group on Facebook was scheduled for Sofia and other cities on March 13 – the group insists that it has no political or trade union affiliations – and was swiftly backed by the association of road carriers, who said that unless the Government responds to their demands for intervention to bring down consumer fuel prices, they would step up their public protests.

Lukoil began the second week of March with an announcement of bulk fuel price hikes, citing increasing supply costs and saying that such increases were taking place throughout the European Union. Local industry statements that Bulgarians pay the lowest fuel prices in the EU did not mollify consumers also facing rising food costs - and considering that while fuel costs in Bulgaria may be the lowest in the bloc, so are salaries.

Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov and Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov, in separate interviews with Bulgarian media, both ascribed fuel price increases to world trends, while Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naidenov said that while fuel costs were being affected by spikes in producer prices, he did not want to see this abused to pump up food prices artificially.

The Government said that it would appoint a working group of officials from various state institutions to check whether there was speculation in food prices, while the Consumer Protection Commission said on March 9 that it would investigate the local market in the production and retail of petrol and diesel to establish the reasons for price hikes.

The view that events in North Africa were making local fuel price hikes inevitable was shared by Vesselin Iliev of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, who said that the local economy was a small one, vulnerable to world trends.

But the Bulgarian Association of Road Carriers’ Krassimir Lalov said that the fuel price situation was "
out of control"
and the association could not accept the scale of the increases, which he said made filling up in Bulgaria costlier than in countries such as Spain and Slovenia. BTV reported that the association suspected a cartel because prices at different fuel stations were similar, even though suppliers differed.

Traikov said that Bulgaria had the lowest excises on fuel in the EU, but added that if local consumer prices rose too much, consideration could be given to looking for cheaper imports from countries such as neighbour Romania. "
This is not a regulated market,"
Traikov said.

He said that the situation made it clear that Bulgaria needed to be looking at alternative energy so that it did not depend solely on oil fuels.

Meanwhile, it was by no means only local road transport and food prices that were being affected by the international fuel market.

Airlines around the world are quickly boosting their fares to keep pace with higher jet fuel costs, the Voice of America said on March 5.

The International Air Transport Association says airline profits this year will be cut by nearly 50 percent because of higher oil prices, largely due to turmoil in the Middle East.

[size=55:us3qmyq0]Sofia echo

Large turnout for Bulgaria’s protest against fuel prices, food inflation

Motorists turned out in force on March 13 2011 in Bulgaria’s major cities and towns, responding to a protest organised on Facebook against sharp increases in fuel prices.

Bulgarian media reports said that those involved in the protest also were angered by recent hikes in food prices. Television station bTV said that participants complained about being hard-hit by rising fuel, electricity and food prices.

In the capital city Sofia, protesters gathered outside Alexander Nevsky cathedral, while some blockaded the area around Orlov Most.

In Sofia and a number of other cities and towns, motorists bought only one or two leva of petrol, paying in coins, washing their windows, asking for printed invoices and generally dawdling at fuel station queues.

The protesters want the Government to lower the excise on fuel to reduce prices for end-users.

The local industry has said that petrol and diesel prices in Bulgaria are the lowest in the European Union and recent increases had been forced by instability in oil-producing countries in North Africa.

BTV said that prices of a wide range of goods, including fuel and clothing, had risen sharply and there was a downturn in consumption.

Bulgarian-language media reports said that the blockade at Orlov Most had led to minor clashes between participants in the protest and passersby, especially because parked cars had disrupted the movement of public transport.

According to Bulgarian news agency Focus, more than 2000 cars and motorcycles blocked fuel stations in Plovdiv.

Several hundred cars were involved in protests in the Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas, while even smaller towns such as Gabrovo saw more than 150 vehicles, some filled with passengers, took part.

In Rousse on the Danube, there were about 500 cars, reports said.

In most cities, taxi drivers joined the protests, but bTV quoted taxi drivers in Sofia as doubting that anything would result from the day’s event.

Road transport companies, which say that fuel price hikes have eaten into their profits and could even challenge their viability, are planning further protests of their own from March 14.

Wow!!! people protesting that is a good start Good luck to them hope they get somewhere. Can't imagine that happening here in the UK

Oddy

oddball wrote:

Wow!!! people protesting that is a good start Good luck to them hope they get somewhere. Can't imagine that happening here in the UK

Oddy

Oddy say's, Quote:- Can't imagine that happening here in the UK

Anger at fuel prices pits motorists against the government ...2 Mar 2011 ... The Fair Fuel Campaign campaign aims to see the planned April fuel ... Fair Fuel UK's petition has attracted [size=150:1cvqtrko]125000 signatures over a four-week period. ... Allan demanding immediate action to tackle rising fuel prices. ...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... government

Oops!!! stand corrected Thanks for that Willow. Considered my wrist slapped

Oddy

[size=55:w9rho9p0]BNR

Carriers protest all over the country

Transport companies from all over Bulgaria protest against high fuel prices. They demonstrate their discontent through buying minimal quantities of fuel for minimal sums. The same kind of protest was launched on Sunday, too. Carriers insist for the government to make a decision making possible a reduction of fuel prices. The Commission for Competition Protection announced that investigation is initiated on a possible cartel agreement among petrol stations. According to Valentin Boyanov, chairman of the Bulgarian Union of Cargo Carriers if fuel prices remain as they are or go further up, that would entail bankruptcies of many transport companies.

Sofia Echo 15th March

Bulgaria's Government moves to examine fuel market situation
Tue, Mar 15 2011 00:01 CET
Bulgaria has created a working group of officials from the ministries of finance, transport and economy to investigate the current fuel market situation in the country, the Government's media office said on March 14 2011.

The move, agreed at a meeting held between Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and ministers Simeon Dyankov, Traicho Traikov and Alexander Tsvetkov, follows a Government decision made last week.

Borissov has ordered the drafting of a comparative analysis of prices of various types of fuels on the Bulgarian market and fuel price levels in other members of the European Union.

The current state of Bulgaria's fuel market will be discussed at a meeting of fuel producers, traders and road carriers on March 16 2011

I wish someone would do something about the fuel cost in the uk I could fill up for about £90 about 3 months back and now its close to £130

[size=55:3cn8bn61]novinite

Bulgarian Competition Watchdog with Speedy Fuel Price Probe

The Bulgarian Commission for Competition Protection (KZK) is going to announce in a week the results of its probe in a possible cartel agreement regarding gasoline and diesel prices in Bulgaria.

The news was reported Thursday in the Parliament by Transport Minister, Aleksander Tsvetkov, who informed he has asked the Commission for a fast and quality report because a month-long delay will make the probe useless.

The probe began last week after Tsvetkov sent a request to KZK.

Initially, the Commission said they had no intentions of launching such probe and that investigating the fuels market is not their priority now over a recent research in 2009 of how prices in the sector are formed. One day later, however, KZK began the probe.

Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, also voiced suspicions of a cartel agreement, adding production prices of fuel in Bulgaria are the highest in the EU, triggering the strong reaction of Valentin Zlatev, the CEO of Lukoil Bulgaria, the company owner of the only oil refinery in the country.

On Wednesday, during a meeting on the subject at the Council of Ministers between the government and representatives of manufacturers and merchants of fuels, participants agreed on three measures to lower mainly diesel prices – two involve taking off the bio component from the diesel fuel or, at least, the excise duty on it while the third provides for leveling the obligations of the State and the manufacturers and merchants of fuels in maintaining mandatory quantities of fuels.

All three measures relate to infringement procedures from the European Commission.

A barrel of oil up another $2 today on the spot market. Bad news!!

Looks like bad news all round? there's a lot to be said for owning a donkey and cart

The cost of fuel seems to rising everyday, and from what I can work out, after reading the news on BBC News website or listening to it on the radio, it is because the instability in Libya etc........ which I suppose I can understand to some degree........ but what I don't understand is the widening of the price gap between petrol and diesel. Not going to get into the fact that diesel is actually cheaper than petrol, nigh on everywhere else except for the UK, that's a different topic altogether. For ages, the difference has always been 4p per litre in the UK, but now it seems to have grown to 6p in the UK........ where has that come from?

Something interesting I found so I thought I would share it with you