Ukraine has seen a sharp drop in demand for fuel. The reason was high prices, which caused drivers to start saving significantly and reduce the volume of gas stations.
This was stated by Serhiy Kuyun, director of the A95 consulting group. According to him, gas station chains are already openly talking about a decline in sales.
" Networks are already reporting a collapse in sales ," the expert noted, explaining the situation simply: with high prices, people are starting to drive less or are looking for ways to save money.
Kuyun emphasized that this situation is critical for gas stations. The business operates with a relatively small margin — approximately 3–5 hryvnias per liter of fuel. Therefore, even with high prices, the increase in revenue does not compensate for the loss of customers.
" Business doesn't want to sell expensively because no one is buying ," he emphasized.
According to the expert, this could be a key factor in revising prices. If world oil prices stabilize or go down, Ukrainian gas station chains will start lowering prices to bring back customers and restore sales volumes.
Thus, the current market situation may become a turning point: high prices have already begun to work against sellers themselves, forcing them to seek a balance between profit and demand.
Previously, we have already analyzed in detail the reasons for the sharp increase in fuel prices in Ukraine , where we discussed the impact of world oil prices, problems with imports and the increase in logistics costs. Experts then emphasized that the Ukrainian market is almost completely dependent on external supplies, so any global fluctuations are instantly reflected in prices at gas stations. Against this background, the current collapse in demand looks like a logical continuation of the situation: after the rapid increase in fuel costs, drivers simply began to refuel less, forcing the market to seek a balance between price and real demand.
