Poland sets fuel price caps for 26 June: petrol down, diesel up as CPN package enters final week

Friday's price changes

On Thursday the energy minister published the maximum fuel prices for Friday, 26 June. A litre of Pb95 petrol will cost no more than 5.95 zł, Pb98 no more than 6.65 zł, and diesel no more than 6.12 zł. Compared with Thursday's caps (5.96 zł, 6.67 zł, and 6.11 zł respectively), both petrol grades are cheaper while diesel is one grosz more expensive.

The next announcement, due on Friday, will set caps for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Since the scheme began on 31 March, when Pb95 was capped at 6.16 zł, Pb98 at 6.76 zł and diesel at 7.60 zł, prices have drifted lower overall.

How the cap is calculated

The maximum price is set each working day by the energy ministry using a formula: the arithmetic average of wholesale fuel prices reported by the five largest market participants, plus excise duty, a fuel surcharge, a fixed retail margin of 0.30 zł per litre, and VAT. Selling above the cap carries a penalty of up to 1 million zł, enforced by the National Revenue Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa).

The CPN package and its expiry

The price caps are part of the CPN (Ceny Paliwa Niżej) package adopted in late March. It cut VAT on fuels from 23% to 8% and reduced excise duty to the EU minimum (29 gr/l on petrol, 28 gr/l on diesel). The excise reduction ended on 15 June, but the lower VAT rate was extended to 30 June, keeping the daily price caps in place until then. The government has signalled it will not prolong the package further.

“The CPN package will lower fuel prices at stations by about 1.2 zł per litre, and drivers will save about 60 zł when filling a 50-litre tank.”

Market backdrop: Hormuz and oil prices

The CPN intervention followed a spike in global oil prices after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly 20% of world crude trade, in retaliation for American-Israeli strikes. More recently, crude and refined product prices have eased on signals of progress in peace talks.

“The current situation is a time of another nervous wait for peace, which could be an argument for a deep price correction – crude oil and refined fuel prices are clearly falling after signals of a possible breakthrough in peace talks regarding the conflict with Iran.”