Wages up 7.1 percent, petrol up 31.5 percent: an average salary now buys 490 litres of diesel

The average net salary in July was 48,499 denars, according to the State Statistical Office. At the prices in force from 20 October, 96 denars for petrol and 99 for diesel, a whole month's pay would buy roughly 505 litres of petrol or 490 litres of diesel. That is nine full tanks and part of a tenth.

At first glance, that does not sound bad. The problem shows when you go back a year. In July 2025 the average salary was 45,276 denars, and last October a litre of BS-95 petrol cost 73 denars, diesel 67. Since then wages have risen by 7.1 percent. Petrol has gone up by 31.5 percent, and diesel by almost 47.8 percent.

The result: purchasing power measured in petrol is down by about 18.5 percent, and in diesel by about 27.5 percent. With the same share of their pay, people today fill up with considerably less fuel than they did a year ago.

Of course, nobody spends their entire salary on fuel - the same money pays for food, housing and bills. But fuel is a good thermometer, because it depends on world oil prices, the exchange rate and domestic levies, and it hits both those who drive and those who simply buy goods that had to be transported. Against that, a 7.1 percent pay rise looks like a small discount on a big bill.

Diesel drivers face an extra dilemma. According to a sample calculation, a diesel car using 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres still saves money compared with a petrol car using seven litres - 12,750 denars every 10,000 kilometres. But that saving melts away in city driving and on short trips, where repairs to the DPF filter, the EGR valve or the turbocharger can eat it up.

The government regularly reminds everyone that fuel in Macedonia is among the cheapest in Europe. In euros, maybe. In litres per average salary, the numbers say something else. Who will put that comparison on the screen at the next press conference?