Eurostat: Bulgaria Records EU’s Fastest Rise in Fuel Prices for Second Consecutive Month

Fuel prices in Bulgaria continued to rise at the fastest annual rate among European Union member states in September, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

Retail prices for fuels and lubricants for personal transport in Bulgaria rose by 42.2% last month compared with September 2025. The country therefore recorded the largest price increase among all EU member states for the second consecutive month, having also topped the ranking in August.

The rise in fuel and lubricant prices in Bulgaria accelerated for the second consecutive month in September, following increases of 22.2% in July and 34.5% in August.

Across the European Union, prices for fuels and lubricants for personal transport rose by 31.4% in September this year compared with the same month in 2025. This represented an acceleration from increases of 16.9% in July and 23.8% in August.

In September, the annual increase in prices was greater than in July and August 2026 in 26 EU member states.

In September 2026, compared with the same month a year earlier, three EU countries recorded fuel price increases of more than 40%: Bulgaria (42.2%), Estonia (40.6%) and Lithuania (40.2%).

In 12 other countries, prices rose by more than 30%, ranging from 37.5% in Czechia to 30.3% in Portugal. The smallest increase was recorded in Hungary (6.9%), followed by Ireland (17.7%) and Sweden (19.9%).

Diesel prices in the EU rose by 5.9%, while petrol prices increased by 6.7%

On a month-on-month basis, retail diesel prices across the EU rose by 5.9% in September 2026, while petrol prices increased by 6.7%. In August, diesel prices rose by 8.3% and petrol prices by 3.3% compared with July 2026.

Diesel prices increased in 26 EU member states in September compared with the previous month. The largest rises were recorded in Sweden (12.8%), Latvia (10.3%) and Poland (9.7%). The smallest increases were seen in Spain (2.4%), Croatia (2.5%) and Romania (3.0%). In Bulgaria, diesel prices rose by 5.5%.

Similarly, 26 member states recorded increases in petrol prices between August and September 2026. The largest rises were in Sweden (13.8%), Poland (9.7%) and Estonia (9.5%), while the smallest were recorded in Cyprus (3.8%), Romania (4.2%) and Slovenia (4.6%). Bulgaria recorded a monthly increase of 6.3% in petrol prices.

Source: BTA