Czech diesel prices rose faster than anywhere else in the EU in August

Czech drivers faced the sharpest monthly rise in diesel prices in the European Union in August. Prices were 14.3 percent higher than in July, compared with an EU average increase of 8.3 percent, according to figures Eurostat published Tuesday.

The comparison comes just after Czechia ended its temporary diesel tax cut and fuel price controls on July 19. The government has now decided to restore both measures for October, following further increases at the pumps.

The 14.3 percent figure compares average prices in August with average prices in July. It does not mean a liter of diesel became 14.3 percent more expensive between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31. July’s average still included days when the lower tax and price controls applied.

The end of the temporary tax cut offers one part of the explanation. From July 20, the standard diesel excise tax returned, adding CZK 1.939 per liter before VAT. That change affected prices at the pump, though the Eurostat figures alone cannot show how much of August’s increase came from tax, wholesale costs or retailers’ margins.

Czechia was not alone in seeing a steep increase. Diesel prices rose 13.5 percent in Bulgaria and 12.3 percent in Luxembourg. They increased in 26 of the EU’s 27 countries, with Malta the sole exception. Czech gasoline prices, by contrast, rose 2.7 percent, below the EU average of 3.3 percent.

The Czech Statistical Office put the average pump price of diesel at CZK 44.98 per liter in August, its highest level since October 2022. The broader category of fuels and lubricants was 26.2 percent more expensive than a year earlier.

From Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, the Finance Ministry will again set maximum daily prices for gasoline and diesel. Its calculation will use a three-day average of wholesale prices and allow fuel sellers a margin of up to CZK 2.50 per liter.

The government will also cut diesel excise tax by CZK 1.939 per liter for the month. The Finance Ministry says the reduction amounts to CZK 2.35 per liter once VAT is included. Gasoline excise tax will stay the same.

That does not guarantee every driver will see diesel fall by CZK 2.35 from its current price: wholesale prices can still move. For now, Eurostat’s figures show how sharply Czech diesel costs changed as the earlier relief ended, while the effect of the renewed measures will become clear only after they take effect.