On July 16, retail fuel prices in Montenegro experienced a significant increase, affecting various sectors including transport, construction, agriculture, and tourism. The price of Eurodiesel rose by €0.09, reaching €1.67 per litre, while heating oil saw an increase of €0.07 to €1.58 per litre. Eurosuper 95 is now priced at €1.64 per litre, and Eurosuper 98 has reached €1.68 per litre.
Since the beginning of 2026, petrol prices have escalated by approximately 21 percent, with diesel and heating oil witnessing increases of around 31 to 32 percent. As a result, filling a 50-litre tank with diesel now costs €20 more compared to the start of the year.
The Montenegrin Government has attempted to mitigate these price shocks through temporary excise tax reductions, implementing a 50 percent cut for diesel and a 25 percent reduction for both grades of petrol. Without these measures, diesel prices could have surpassed €2 per litre during the supply disruptions experienced in spring.
This fiscal intervention has shifted part of the energy cost burden from consumers to the state budget. While this strategy supports household spending and benefits margins in the tourism sector in the short term, it simultaneously diminishes excise revenue at a time when Montenegro’s capital investment and social spending obligations are on the rise.
The impact of diesel inflation is particularly pronounced in Montenegro due to its reliance on imports, challenging mountainous terrain, and limited rail freight options. Increased transportation costs are subsequently passed on to essential goods such as food, construction materials, waste management services, hotel supplies, and municipal projects. Contractors operating under fixed-price agreements are facing heightened pressure when their contracts lack sufficient fuel-indexation provisions.
