The recent rise in fuel prices in Georgia is primarily driven by surging global oil prices caused by the war in Iran, according to Vakhtang Iobashvili, chairman of the Union of Oil Products Importers. He described the current increase as the “first wave” and expects moderate price adjustments for both diesel and gasoline in the coming weeks.
Iobashvili noted that diesel prices are rising sharply worldwide due to military demand, with conflicts in Iran and Ukraine fueling volatility. In Georgia, fuel stocks are limited, so price changes directly reflect international market fluctuations and the local dollar-lari exchange rate.
The chairman emphasized that the timing of future price adjustments depends on global spot market purchases: “No one knows exactly when prices will rise; it becomes clear only when companies buy fuel on the spot market. All types of fuel are expected to increase moderately over the next two weeks.”
Since the U.S.-Israel-Iran tensions escalated on February 28, Brent crude jumped from $72 to a peak of $117 per barrel, a nearly 63% increase. Currently, prices have corrected to around $92 per barrel, a 21% drop from the peak but still 28% higher than before the conflict began.
