Fuel prices at Czech petrol stations vary by up to 6 crowns per litre — even within the same town

The price gap for fuel between neighbouring petrol stations in Czechia can reach as much as six crowns per litre — and this isn't a case of comparing opposite ends of the country, but sometimes stations in the very same town. That's the picture that emerged after journalists toured filling stations across the republic.

In Mladá Boleslav, for instance, the EuroOil station on Pražská Street was selling diesel for 42.90 crowns a litre on Thursday, while the MOL station on Průmyslová Street was charging three crowns more. As a rule, the highest prices are found at stations along motorways and major highways.

"Petrol above 40 crowns doesn't surprise anyone anymore, but I try to avoid filling up on the motorway — it's always noticeably pricier there, almost like in Austria. I was there recently and paid under two euros a litre, which works out to about 46 crowns, so our motorway prices have almost caught up," said driver Jan Daneš, who was waiting at a petrol station in Mladá Boleslav.

Where fuel is most expensive

According to CCS, a company that has long tracked fuel prices, petrol averaged 41.47 crowns and diesel 44.06 crowns on Wednesday. Diesel prices, however, were noticeably above average in some places.

At the Orlen station in Olomouc on Hněvotínská Street, a litre of diesel was going for 45.50 crowns on Thursday, while in Hradec Králové, on Pilnáčkova Street, both the OMV and Shell stations were charging the same price — 45.90 crowns. Journalists found the highest price at the Orlen station in Teplice, where diesel cost 48.90 crowns a litre.

Drivers filling up below average included those at the EuroOil station on Hněvotínská Street in Olomouc and at the EuroOil station on Rudolfovská Street in České Budějovice — both stations were selling diesel at 42.90 crowns.

Petrol prices also varied widely. In Mladá Boleslav, a litre of Natural 95 cost 40.50 crowns at EuroOil, but 43.30 crowns at the MOL station on Průmyslová Street. Petrol under forty crowns could be found at EuroOil stations in Olomouc and České Budějovice, both charging 39.90 crowns a litre.

Prices fell over the week

Compared to the previous week, average prices have edged down: according to CCS, petrol dropped by 71 hellers and diesel by 60 hellers. Boris Tomčiak, an analyst at Finlord, notes that wholesale fuel prices have been falling in recent weeks, which should feed through to retail prices too. By the end of August he expects a drop of around 1.50 crowns per litre, which could push average petrol prices below forty crowns.

According to Petr Lajsko, an analyst at Purple Trading, the fuel market has begun reacting to the slump in oil prices: between late July and early August, a barrel of North Sea Brent crude fell from a hundred to eighty dollars.

"The market reacted noticeably to diplomatic movements around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, which eased concerns last week about long-term disruptions to oil supplies. But in recent days the situation has become more complicated again: Iran is tightening its demands, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been noticeably restricted, so the market is once again pricing in a certain risk premium," he explained.

After dropping to $78, Brent crude rose again on Thursday to $87 a barrel. According to the analyst, the drop in fuel prices could prove short-lived, and given the situation on the oil market, prices may well start climbing again.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz