Belgian Petrol Prices Climb Back Toward Record High

Petrol prices in Belgium are rising again, pulling back toward record levels, while diesel held steady and heating oil fell. The maximum price of petrol 95 (E10) will rise by 4 euro cents per litre to €2.105, and petrol 98 (E5) by the same amount to €2.299, the SPF Economy announced on Monday, with the new tariffs taking effect on Tuesday 13 October, according to RTBF.

The increases bring petrol 95 back to within a fraction of a cent of its late-September record of €2.108, while 98 E5 edges closer to the €2.322 peak recorded two weeks earlier.

A Diverging Trend at the Pump

The three main fuels are now moving in different directions. Diesel (B7) remains unchanged at €2.492 per litre, a rate that has held since 10 October and sits just 0.8 cents below the symbolic €2.50 threshold first crossed on 22 September. Heating oil (gasoil de chauffage), by contrast, is falling: for orders of 2,000 litres or more it drops 3.90 cents to €1.5580 per litre, and for smaller orders it declines 3.89 cents to €1.6012.

As L’Avenir reports, filling a 50-litre tank at the maximum price now costs up to €124.60 for diesel, against €105.25 for 50 litres of petrol 95 E10.

Belgian fuel prices are maximum prices set by the SPF Economy, meaning stations may sell cheaper but never above the cap. The new schedule is published in the official tariff (n° 2026/197) effective 13 October on the SPF Economy website.

Why Pump Prices Stay High

The divergence reflects a global oil market still unsettled by the war in Iran, launched on 28 February 2026, which closed the Strait of Hormuz and destroyed major oil and gas infrastructure.

Although a barrel of Brent crude has since fallen below $100 — to around $85–90 — pump prices remain elevated. According to RTBF background reporting, industry federation Energia stresses that only part of the pump price tracks market quotations.

“It is only part of the pump price that is directly linked to market quotations, i.e. Brent crude oil,” said Jean-Benoît Schrans, spokesperson for Energia. “The other elements are refining costs, transport, distribution margin, and taxes and excise duties.”

Those taxes are substantial. In 2025, excise duties accounted for 38% of the maximum price of petrol 95 E10 and 36% for diesel; adding VAT brings the total to 55% on petrol and 53% on diesel. An increasing share of more expensive biofuels also contributes. Belgian fuel prices have risen by roughly 20% on average since the conflict began, Energia estimates.

G7 Move Could Bring Relief

The increase comes as the world’s leading economies attempt to cool the market. The G7 has decided to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil over four months, coordinated by the International Energy Agency, with “substantial” diesel stocks expected to reach the market within days.

Markets have already reacted: the price of WTI crude fell 5% in London on Friday 9 October following the announcements. The G7 also committed not to impose export bans among its members, and French President Emmanuel Macron indicated countries want to work on reducing refiners’ margins and transport costs, which were heavily inflated by the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

L’Avenir noted that the reserve release “should help lower prices and, ultimately, pump prices, although the extent and speed of the effect in Belgium will depend notably on the evolution of international prices and refining and distribution margins.”

What’s Next

With petrol once again flirting with record levels and diesel hovering just under €2.50, Belgian motorists face an uncertain autumn. Energia’s Schrans offered little comfort on the outlook.

“The only certainty today is uncertainty,” he said. “The market is so volatile at the moment that it is impossible to predict how prices will evolve. The geopolitical situation over the past six months has created instability in the global supply of crude oil and diesel. So it will take a lot of time to return to a situation comparable to what we knew before the war in Iran.”

Whether the G7’s coordinated release translates into relief at Belgian pumps — or whether petrol breaches its all-time high in the coming days — will depend on forces largely beyond consumers’ control: crude quotations, refining margins, and the fragile geopolitics of the Gulf.