Fuel prices for personal vehicles rose by 20.7% in the European Union in May compared with the same month a year earlier, with Bulgaria posting the bloc’s highest annual increase, according to data from Eurostat published on June 22.

The latest figures show continued volatility in fuel costs across the bloc, following year-on-year increases of 12.9% in March and 20.8% in April.

In May, prices rose in all EU member states, with the steepest increases recorded in Bulgaria (33.9%), Luxembourg (32.2%), Lithuania (30.8%) and Romania (30.4%). The smallest increase was in Hungary at 3.5%, while other EU countries saw rises ranging from 12.7% in Poland to 29.2% in France.

Eurostat data also showed that fuel inflation in Bulgaria accelerated in May after increases of 27.8% in April and 6% in March.

On a monthly basis, EU fuel and lubricant prices rose 1.1% in May, slowing from increases of 14.7% in April and 12.7% in March.

By fuel type, diesel prices in the EU rose 29% year-on-year in May, while petrol increased 16.2%. In April, diesel had surged 33.7% annually and petrol 13.6%.

Compared with April, however, diesel prices in the EU fell 5.8% in May, while petrol edged up 0.8%.

Among member states, diesel prices increased month-on-month only in Romania, by 1.6%, while falling elsewhere. The sharpest declines were recorded in Germany (11.9%), Greece (8.5%), Estonia (8.4%) and Ireland (8.1%). Smaller drops were seen in Bulgaria (0.7%), Hungary (0.9%) and Cyprus (1.5%).

For petrol, 23 EU countries recorded monthly increases in May, ranging from 6.9% in Italy to 0.1% in Croatia and Hungary. Prices declined in Germany, Ireland and Sweden, by 5.6%, 2% and 0.7% respectively, Eurostat said.