Hungary extends cap on fuel and food prices

Hungary's government has extended a price cap on fuel and some basic food items by two more months as consumer prices continue to rise in the Central European country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Wednesday. The cap on gasoline and diesel prices, which the government fixed in November at 480 Hungarian forints per liter, would continue until July 1.

A limit in place since Feb. 1 on the price of basic food items such as sugar, flour, sunflower oil, pork legs and chicken breasts will also remain in place until July 1. Hungarian retailers are required to keep the prices of those products at or below where they stood on Oct. 15, 2021, and must ensure the items remain in stock. Hungary's government implemented the price caps in response to surging inflation and record weakness of the forint against the euro. Inflation in Hungary reached 8.5% in March, and the country's central bank predicted this week it could exceed 9% by year's end.