Bogdan Chirițoiu, president of Romania’s Competition Council, has warned that fuel retailers may attempt to maximize profits during the interim period before a new commercial margin cap takes effect.
Speaking to Digi24 on Tuesday, Chirițoiu stated he could not exclude the possibility that operators are exploiting the remaining time to adjust prices upward before the regulatory constraint is enforced.
The warning comes amid broader concerns over fuel price volatility in the region.
Recent data from neighboring Croatia has shown increases at the pump, with experts citing a timing mismatch between wholesale crude costs and retail adjustments.
This pattern suggests that retailers in the region may be leveraging lagging wholesale cost structures to maintain or expand margins, even as input costs stabilize or fluctuate.
For investors and traders, the implication is a potential for further inflationary pressure in the eurozone and surrounding economies, where fuel costs remain a primary driver of consumer price indices.