
Poland’s Orlen raised wholesale fuel prices to their highest levels since October 2022 on Sunday, as the Middle East energy crisis drove costs upward. Wholesale Pb95 gasoline climbed 27 groszy to 6.395 zł per liter, while diesel rose 11 groszy to 7.39 zł per liter, according to reports. After adding 23% VAT, retail prices for diesel could exceed 9 zł per liter, with gasoline nearing 7.87 zł per liter before dealer margins.
The surge follows a spike in Brent crude prices, which exceeded $107 per barrel this week, up from below $100 the previous week. Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry announced Friday that its strategic East-West pipeline had been temporarily halted due to attacks near Riyadh and Medina, further straining global oil supplies. Analyst Urszula Cieślak of BM Reflex told WNP that the weakening Polish złoty would deepen price increases, pushing retail diesel past the 9 zł per liter threshold this week .
Orlen later adjusted prices again, raising diesel wholesale to 7.56 zł per liter (9.30 zł after VAT) while cutting Pb95 gasoline to 6.37 zł per liter (7.84 zł after VAT). Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka said the government’s intervention depends on presidential approval of a windfall tax on fuel companies, stating, “We must tax the fuel giants to finance the support package” .
Independent forecasts align with the trend: BM Reflex and e-petrol analysts project retail diesel prices between 8.94–9.07 zł per liter this week, with gasoline nearing its June 2022 peak of 7.97 zł. The crisis stems from disrupted Middle East refinery outputs and Russia’s diesel export ban, which have slashed Europe’s diesel imports by over 50% since March, according to Reuters . Some Polish stations already list diesel at 9.19 zł per liter and gasoline at 8.19 zł per liter .
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