New fuel prices apply from midnight, and among them is one figure worth more than all the others: diesel is now more expensive than petrol.

EURODIESEL is dropping by a full 6.50 denars and will sell at a maximum price of 95 denars per litre. EUROSUPER BS-95 is going up by one denar and reaches 94 denars. So, after diesel fell by six and a half denars, it is still one denar more expensive than the best-selling petrol.

EUROSUPER BS-98 also rises by a denar and will cost 96 denars per litre.

What the headlines do not show

Diesel gets most of the coverage, but two figures bear directly on households ahead of the heating season. Extra-light household heating oil is dropping by 3.50 denars to a new price of 97 denars per litre. Mazut M-1 NS falls by 1.166 denars per kilogram and will cost 44.410 denars per kilogram.

Under the calculation methodology, fuel prices are falling by an average of 2.06 percent. Average - the word that hides the fact that petrol drivers are paying more and diesel drivers less.

Who gains from this correction

Macedonia has been a diesel country for years. Diesel vehicles make up 63 percent of the fleet against 26 percent petrol - plus all freight transport and all of agriculture. When diesel drops by 6.50 denars, that is a real difference in transport costs, and it ought to show up further down the line - in the price of the goods being transported.

Whether it will show up is another question. When diesel goes up, the increase reaches the shelves within days. When it comes down, the way back somehow always takes longer.

The prices are set weekly by the Energy Regulatory Commission as maximum retail prices. That means petrol stations are allowed to sell below the set figure. How many of them do, nobody publishes.