From midnight, prices at the petrol stations are higher. Diesel jumped by a full six denars and now costs 94 denars per litre. Eurosuper BS-95 and BS-98 petrol went up by three denars each, now dispensed at 90 and 92 denars respectively. And extra-light heating oil rose by seven denars. Summer has only just begun, and the fuel is already telling us this holiday will cost more than last year's.

The Energy Regulatory Commission explains the increases through rising global markets: reference prices climbed by around 9 percent for petrol and nearly 15 percent for diesel compared with the previous calculation. That is an external factor over which neither the ERC nor the government have any control. So far the story is familiar - the world jumped, we pay.

But there's a domestic part too. Yesterday the government cut excise - one denar per litre on petrol and two denars on diesel - to "soften the blow." By their calculations, without this intervention diesel would have risen by around eight denars instead of six. In other words: cutting the excise doesn't mean cheaper fuel, it means a smaller price rise. That's a difference every driver feels in only one way - they still pay more.

The question that remains is how long this game of excise-as-shock-absorber can last. Every time the world price jumps, the state gives up part of its own revenue so the blow isn't total - but that's a solution with a limit. Excise can't be cut forever, and world prices don't ask about our budget.

For the driver at the pump, though, the bill is simple and needs no calculation: a full tank of diesel this morning costs noticeably more than yesterday. The ERC reminds us that the set prices are maximums and that traders are allowed to sell for less. Whether they actually will - or whether everyone glues themselves to the ceiling - is something each of us will see for ourselves, at the nearest station.