On 20 September, diesel fuel at some WOG petrol stations crossed the psychological threshold of 100 UAH per litre: standard diesel is selling at 101.90 UAH/l, whilst the premium Mustang+ is priced at 103.90 UAH per litre. At the same time, WOG’s official website currently shows an average price across the network of 99.90 UAH per litre and warns that prices at specific petrol stations may vary. This sharp rise in prices comes against a backdrop of record diesel prices in Europe.
- At some WOG stations, diesel costs 101.90 UAH per litre.
- The price of Mustang+ has risen to 103.90 UAH per litre.
- The average price at WOG is currently 99.90 UAH per litre.
- European diesel has set a new price record.
- There remains potential for a further rise in prices.
Diesel prices at some WOG stations have exceeded 100 UAH per litre
At some WOG petrol stations, the price of standard diesel rose to 101.90 UAH/l, and premium Mustang+ — up to 103.90 UAH/l.
This is already significantly above the psychological threshold of 100 hryvnias per litre.
However, this does not mean there is a single price across the entire network. On the official WOG website, as at 20 September, the average price of standard diesel and Mustang+ is listed as 99.90 UAH/l. The company specifically points out that prices at individual petrol stations may differ from the average across Ukraine.
Morning monitoring of major chains also showed WOG at 99.90 UAH/l. OKKO and SOCAR had similar prices, whilst UPG reduced the price of diesel to 97.90 UAH/l. In other words, operators are currently adjusting their prices at different rates.
In September, the price of diesel rose by more than 7 UAH
The rise began as early as the start of September. According to data from the «A-95» Consulting Group, published by the Ministry of Finance, the average price of diesel fuel in Ukraine on 1 September stood at 91.41 UAH/l. By 18 September, she had reached 98.68 UAH/litre.
Consequently, in less than three weeks, the average price of diesel rose by 7.27 UAH per litre.
At WOG, the trend was similar. At the start of the month, the average price of diesel was 93.90 UAH/l, and by 15 September it had risen to 99.90 UAH/l. In other words, in the first half of the month alone, the price of diesel across the network rose by around 6 UAH/l.
It is worth noting that WOG was not the first Ukrainian chain where diesel prices exceeded the 100 UAH mark. Back on 18 September, Neftek set the price for standard diesel 100 UAH/l, and the premium one — 102 UAH/l.
Why are fuel prices rising so sharply?
The main factor is the cost of the imported resource.
On 15 September, spot prices for diesel fuel in Europe rose to record levels $1 644 per tonne. Over a single day, the price rose by $89/t, which is equivalent to approximately 4 UAH/l, and over five days — by $172/t, or approximately 7.70 UAH/l.
Enkorr attributed the surge to a deterioration in the supply-demand balance and fresh disruptions to oil supplies and petroleum products. In early September, the escalating situation in the Middle East put further pressure on the European market.
This is particularly important for Ukraine, as a significant proportion of its fuel comes from abroad. WOG itself reports that it imports fuel from refineries in Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Romania, Greece, the USA and other countries.
As early as 16 September, analysts were estimating the cost price of new consignments of diesel for Ukrainian operators at 94.40–96.75 UAH/l, and with European prices remaining at record levels, new supplies from the south could enter the market at as much as 98.30–98.50 UAH/litre.
Will prices continue to rise?
By 17 September, European share prices had fallen slightly from their peak — to approximately $1 553/t. However, Ukrainian petrol stations have started to receive new consignments of fuel, purchased precisely when prices were high.
That is precisely why price reductions on the international market do not necessarily have an immediate impact on prices at Ukrainian petrol stations.
As at 18 September, Enkorr noted that there was scope for further increases in the retail price of diesel fuel is still in place. At the same time, the situation varies depending on the network: on 20 September, UPG had already reduced the price of standard diesel by 2 UAH/litre, whilst some premium operators kept their prices at around 100 UAH.
Therefore, a price of over 100 UAH per litre has not yet become the standard across the entire Ukrainian market, but the fact that some large petrol stations have exceeded this threshold shows just how quickly the September surge in wholesale prices has reached retail petrol stations.
