Lithuanian finance minister says too early for fuel price caps

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Finance Minister Kristupas Vaitiekunas said on Friday it was too early to discuss specific measures to mitigate rising fuel prices, which have surged due to the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East.

While some countries have already introduced fuel price caps, the Lithuanian minister suggested observing market trends for now.

"It is probably too early to talk about specific measures, as we are looking at what other countries are doing. Currently, the vast majority of both countries and institutions are in a monitoring and preparation phase," Vaitiekunas told LRT radio.

"It is probably worth just seeing how the situation unfolds at the moment," he added.

In response to oil price increases triggered by the war in Iran, the Hungarian and Croatian governments introduced price caps for petrol stations from Tuesday.

Vaitiekunas, who had previously opposed such fuel price caps, said the countries that introduced them were in a different situation from Lithuania.

"Hungary and Croatia are quite distant from us (...) in terms of economic structure. Elections are approaching in Hungary, so these decisions are also somewhat influenced by the political cycle," the minister emphasized.

Vaitiekunas said on Tuesday that if the conflict in the Middle East were to continue and oil and gas prices remained high, a reduction in fuel excise duties would be considered, especially for sectors dependent on fossil fuels.