Fuel prices in Slovakia lower than EU average

Fuel prices in Slovakia in the long term are lower than the EU average, as the country tends to respond to changes on the global market more slowly than elsewhere, Economy Minister Pavol Pavlis and Slovnaft oil refinery head Oszkár Világi claimed on Wednesday. Világi mentioned that fluctuations in fuel prices in Slovakia aren't as fast as in other countries in the European Union. "We tend to be slow in responding both to drops and hikes in oil prices", emphasised the director, rejecting claims that Slovnaft has been making cartel agreements with other players on the market when setting fuel prices in Slovakia. These seem to be higher than fuel prices in the rest of the EU. "Since the summer of 2014 Slovnaft has reduced petrol prices by 28.3 euro cents and diesel prices by 24.3 euro cents. According to statistics, these drops were more significant than average reductions on the Slovak market as a whole", said Világi. According to Világi, Slovnaft's share of the retail market is 24 percent, and the refinery supplies approximately two thirds of the Slovak wholesale market. Pavlis and Világi further concurred that the situation in the oil sector in Slovakia is very good in terms of meeting various requirements concerning fuels and the payment of taxes.