On Wednesday, Hungary accused Ukraine of suddenly raising tariffs for the transit of Russian oil, which pushed up fuel prices and pushed the country’s inflation to 0.5%, reversing forecasts for a decline as Budapest has the highest rate of price growth in Europe. Union, reports News.ro with reference to Reuters.

Hungary still expects inflation to fall to single digits by the end of this year, probably in November, a little later than previously expected, Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, told a news conference.

In August, annual inflation slowed to 16.4%, but its level slightly exceeded expectations. Rampant inflation, which peaked at more than 25% in the first quarter, weighed on consumption as real wages fell this year despite strong wage gains.

“There are some alarming signals, mainly related to fuel prices, which are higher than before,” Gulyas said. “The main reason for this is that we have to import fuel five times more expensive through the pipeline that goes through Ukraine,” he said. “Increasing the transit tax goes against all guidelines and recommendations,” he charged.

The official noted that Hungary paid Ukraine 3.5 times more than the base level, which he did not specify, and this directly affected fuel prices in Hungary.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in March that Hungary would begin paying Ukraine to transit Russian oil through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline to maintain its supply.

Hungary’s National Bank also cut its overnight deposit rate by 100 basis points to 14% last month, as expected, continuing to reduce rate hikes while the EU’s top inflation is finally slowing.