Ljubljana - Fuel prices in Slovenia will be fully deregulated from Thursday as the decree on administered prices for regular petrol and diesel at service stations outside motorways and expressways has expired, and has not been extended by the government.

Fuel providers will now be able to set prices on their own, which will be published on the web portal goriva.si.

Announcing the recent decision not to extend the decree, the government said that administered prices were no longer necessary given the suitable measures and activities to increase competitiveness on the oil derivatives market.

It believes that new discount providers may enter the market, in particular in the parking lots of shopping centres, and under that assumption, margins and hence prices would not rise.

Prices of fuel sold along motorways and expressways have been deregulated since 2016, as has the price of heating oil and premium petrol regardless of point of sale.

Fuel providers, foremost among them Slovenia's largest energy company Petrol, have long complained that the state-imposed margins are too thin, while successive governments argued that price caps are necessary due to insufficient competition.

Petrol and OMV have welcomed the decision as a positive development on the market that will benefit all stakeholders, with both companies saying consumers would get more choice.

The state has reserved the option to intervene in the case of excessive and unexpected price hikes and again start controlling the prices in line with the relevant law, but not for more than a year, unless when the circumstances justify this.