On 1 October 2026 a price regulation of fuels set by the Ministry of Finance took effect in Czechia. The maximum price of diesel was set at 48.72 crowns per litre, and of petrol at 46.14 crowns per litre. The measure applies to filling stations throughout the country and is the government's second intervention in fuel prices in 2026; the government first regulated prices from April to mid-July, by capping retailers' margins and lowering the excise duty on diesel[1][2].*

Impact on prices

On the very first day of the regulation, diesel at filling stations became cheaper according to ČTK's findings, often by as much as three crowns per litre, exceptionally even more; on the D5 motorway in Šlovice near Plzeň the price of diesel fell by 4.18 crowns in a day[1]. Petrol became cheaper only at some stations, because many of them had already been selling it on Wednesday 30 September at a price lower than the newly set cap[1][3]. On the Wednesday before the regulation was introduced, the best-selling petrol, Natural 95, cost 45.86 crowns per litre on average in Czechia and diesel 49.44 crowns per litre, according to data from the company CCS[1].

Examples from filling stations

The Shell filling station in Prague's Chodov lowered the price of diesel from 51.90 to 48.70 crowns per litre and of petrol from 46.90 to 46.10 crowns per litre, that is, just below the set caps[1][3]. Diesel was also made cheaper by OMV stations in Prague, Orlen in Hradec Králové and on the D5 near Plzeň, MOL in Olomouc and Třebíč, and the filling stations at Makro wholesale stores in Ostrava-Hrabová and near Velká Bystřice in the Olomouc area, where diesel fell by roughly three crowns[1][2][3]. The Orlen filling station on the D10 motorway near Mladá Boleslav lowered the price of diesel from 52.50 to exactly 48.72 crowns and of petrol from 47.90 to 46.14 crowns, that is, to the level of the permitted maximum[2]. Fuels were sold more cheaply than the set cap by the state-owned EuroOil network operated by Čepro, where diesel in Mladá Boleslav cost 47.50 crowns per litre and petrol stayed at the same price as before the regulation, 45.50 crowns[2].

Regional differences

On the Wednesday before the cap was introduced, petrol was cheapest in the Liberec Region (CZK 45.58) and most expensive in Prague (CZK 46.36); diesel was cheapest in south Moravia and in the Karlovy Vary Region (CZK 49.33) and most expensive in the Olomouc Region (CZK 49.6)[1]. In Liberec, prices at the pumps mostly fell after the regulation was introduced, but some of the cheapest stations raised them; at the filling stations on the through road the price of petrol mostly fell from 46.90 crowns to the permitted maximum of 46.14 crowns per litre[1].

Context of the regulation

The Ministry of Finance intends to set the caps for individual days at least until the end of October 2026, on the basis of a moving three-day average of wholesale prices, to which is added the retailers' maximum margin, capped at 2.50 crowns per litre[2][3]. The measure also includes a lowering of the excise duty on diesel from 9.95 crowns to 8.011 crowns per litre, while the excise duty on petrol does not change[3]. According to the government, the rise in fuel prices is connected with the conflict in the Middle East, where the US and Israel attacked Iran in February 2026, and Iran responded by restricting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz[2].

Chronology

  • — After the introduction of a price cap, diesel at filling stations became cheaper by up to three crowns, petrol only in places. ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz

Sources

  1. ČTK / České noviny — 1 October 2026
  2. Novinky.cz — 1 October 2026
  3. Blesk.cz — 1 October 2026