The rise in fuel prices in Montenegro is not unexpected, but it is very unfavorable for the living standards of citizens and is starting to form a platform for future price increases of other products and services, economic analyst Vasilije Kostić said.
He told the Mina-business agency that several factors influence price growth, especially the current situation in Middle Eastern and African countries.
"Oil prices on the market are increasingly influenced by the rapidly growing demand from China and India, where consumption, according to some estimates, has quadrupled in the last 30 years and has a tendency to continue growing," said Kostić.
Considering the estimates of the duration of oil reserves in the world, the growth trend, as he explained, is likely to be long-term with short-term oscillations.
As of today, fuel is three to seven cents more expensive, despite the fact that a barrel of oil on international markets is far lower than it was in 2008, when it amounted to a record 140 USD and when fuel in Montenegro cost 1,31 and 1,28 euros, respectively .
Kostić sees the reason for these price increases in the methodology for forming maximum prices.
"The methodology is in force as part of the privatization contract of Jugopetrol and, in accordance with it, the formation of the retail price of fuel is influenced by the price on the international market as well as the ratio between the euro and the dollar. This alignment is done every other Monday, so this kind of movement is currently possible," Kostić said.
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