Fuel prices in Cyprus are rising sharply as escalating conflict in the Middle East drives international oil markets higher.
International oil prices jumped more than 5% yesterday to $109.50 a barrel after Israel struck the world’s largest natural gas field, with Iran subsequently threatening to hit oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Citi analysts forecast that Brent crude could average $130 a barrel in the second and third quarters of the year if attacks on regional energy infrastructure intensify.
Fuel prices: three weeks of rises
Cyprus fuel prices, tracked daily by the Consumer Protection Service, have risen steadily over the past ten days. On 9 March, the average island-wide price of 95-octane unleaded petrol stood at €1.350 per litre, diesel at €1.462, and heating oil at €1.004. By 13 March, those figures had risen to €1.416, €1.562, and €1.079. Yesterday, 18 March, they stood at €1.449, €1.626, and €1.127.
Construction costs also climbing
Construction, transport, and shipping are among the sectors expected to be noticeably affected. Statistics Service figures released yesterday showed Cyprus’s Construction Materials Price Index rose in February 2026 on both a monthly and annual basis. The sharpest increases were in electromechanical goods, up 2.27%, followed by wood, insulation, chemicals, and plastics at 1.64%, and minerals at 0.94%. Metal products fell 0.45% and mineral products fell 0.08%.
“Room to manoeuvre is limited”
Dimitris Georgiadis, president of the Cyprus Council of Economy and Competitiveness (SOAK), told CNA yesterday that Cyprus had failed to act in time to expand renewable energy use or bring down costs, and that the arrival of natural gas had also not been delivered when it should have been.
“As a result, the room to manoeuvre today is limited,” he said.
The main remaining tool is taxation, Georgiadis said — but experience shows such measures have limited effectiveness and do not always deliver the expected results. Significant cuts to consumption taxes could create fiscal problems, he added, and were unlikely to achieve the desired impact, potentially generating other difficulties in the process.
Energy price rises, he concluded, have knock-on effects across the entire economy — pushing up inflation, transport costs, and even airfares for tourists travelling to Cyprus.