Fuel Prices Surge Up to 17% in April, Imports Drop 15% Amid Rising Trade

Fuel prices across all categories rose sharply in April compared to March, according to data from the Statistics Department. Heating diesel saw the largest monthly increases, up 16.8% for home delivery and 17.2% for store sales. Conventional mobility diesel climbed 16%, while its premium version increased by 15.7%. Unleaded petrol of 95 octane gained 10%, and the 98 octane variant rose 9.6%.

Year-over-year figures from April 2025 show even steeper hikes. Home-delivered heating diesel jumped 47%, and store-bought rose 48.7%. Mobility diesel increased 43.3%, with the premium grade up 42%. The 95 octane petrol advanced 20.3%, and 98 octane gained 19.3%.

Over the first four months of 2026 versus the same period in 2025, mobility diesel rose 10.5% and its premium version 10%. The 95 octane petrol edged up 1.9%, and 98 octane 1.8%. Heating diesel for home delivery increased 14%, and store sales 15%.

In the rolling 12-month comparison, however, some fuels showed slight declines. Mobility diesel dipped 0.01%, its premium grade 0.1%. The 95 octane petrol fell 3.8%, and 98 octane 3.7%. Heating diesel bucked the trend, up 1.7% for home delivery and 2% for stores.

Fuel imports dropped in April to 11.14 million litres, down 15.2% from April 2025 and 32.2% from March 2026. Year-to-date through April, imports totalled 57.97 million litres, a 3.8% decrease from 2025's equivalent period. Over the past 12 months, the figure stood at 161.72 million litres, 1.5% below the prior year.

Overall merchandise imports rose 12.6% in value to 166.75 million euros in April compared to 2025, driven by transport (up 29.3% to 36.46 million euros), construction (up 53.9% to 12.82 million), and industrial products (up 26.4%). Year-to-date imports reached 645.06 million euros, up 3.6%. Exports surged 41% to 20.99 million euros in April, led by transport (up 182.9% to 8.39 million euros). Year-to-date exports hit 68.31 million euros, up 9.1%.