Oil Retreats — Regulator to Decide Tomorrow Whether Fuel Prices Will Stabilize

Global oil prices have reversed after several weeks of increases: Brent has fallen by roughly 10 percent over the past week, and North Macedonia's Energy Regulatory Commission will announce new fuel decisions tomorrow that could affect domestic pump prices.

What pushed prices up — and what the drop means

In the previous three to four weeks renewed clashes on the US–Iran front pushed oil higher, which translated into higher prices at home: diesel rose by around 18 denars per litre, while gasoline increased by about 9 denars per litre.

To ease the pressure from the international shock, authorities cut the excise duty on fuels. Officials also said a reduction of VAT on fuels could be considered if the price shock persists; any further interventions will depend on tomorrow's regulatory decision.

Energy regulator official Ristov recently said that at the moment crude-oil deliveries are not the problem; the bottleneck is processing — many refineries in conflict zones have been destroyed, reducing capacity for refined products and creating shortages.

Brent is trading just above $80 per barrel now, compared with roughly $100 per barrel at the start of last week. New talks between the US and Iran have begun without public details about participants or location, and their outcome will largely determine the next direction of the markets. Any fresh escalation could trigger renewed turbulence.

For consumers, the key question is whether the regulator's measures tomorrow will be enough to stabilise prices at the pump or whether further fiscal steps (for example deeper excise or VAT changes) will be required if volatility returns.

By Irena Čačkova

Photo: press material from the event