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Summary for: Czech fuel price caps fall Friday, with petrol below CZK 42 a literDrivers in Czechia will see lower fuel price ceilings Friday, Nov. 6, with the maximum permitted petrol price falling below CZK 42 a liter.
The Finance Ministry has set the diesel ceiling at CZK 47.91 per liter, down CZK 0.88 from Thursday. Petrol stations will be allowed to charge no more than CZK 41.84 per liter for petrol, a reduction of CZK 0.80.
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Both caps have declined throughout the week, with Friday’s reductions accelerating that trend. The government extended the temporary fuel-price regulation through the end of November last week.
Petrol prices fall while diesel remains elevated
The latest ceilings are below the nationwide average pump prices reported by fuel-monitoring company CCS.
Natural 95 petrol currently averages CZK 42.39 per liter, down CZK 1.31 from a week earlier. Diesel averages CZK 48.08, almost unchanged from the previous Wednesday.
Those figures describe recent market prices, while the newly announced ceilings apply Friday. Stations can charge less than the permitted maximum.
For a 50-liter fill-up, Friday’s reduction in the ceiling amounts to CZK 40 for petrol or CZK 44 for diesel compared with Thursday’s maximum prices.
The Finance Ministry’s price bulletin continues a decline from October’s higher levels.
The petrol cap peaked at CZK 47.21 per liter in mid-October and has fallen since. Diesel followed a different course: its ceiling initially declined after regulation began Oct. 1, then rose through much of the month before the latest consecutive reductions.
How the price controls work
The ministry calculates maximum prices using a rolling three-day average of wholesale prices, adding a retailer margin capped by the government at CZK 2.50 per liter.
The government also reduced diesel excise duty from CZK 9.95 to CZK 8.011 per liter from the beginning of October. Petrol excise duty was unchanged.
These measures are intended to limit the impact of higher international fuel costs on motorists and businesses.
The government used a similar combination of controls earlier this year, from mid-April to mid-July. The Finance Ministry estimated the budgetary cost of that intervention at approximately CZK 1 billion a month.
Fuel prices have been under pressure since the Middle East conflict began following US and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February.
According to ČTK, Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for oil and other commodities leaving the Persian Gulf. The resulting disruption has contributed to the higher costs that prompted the Czech government’s intervention.
