Fuel prices are rising sharply
Fuel prices across Germany jumped sharply on Wednesday after the government's temporary fuel tax discount expired, pushing the average price of both Super E10 gasoline and diesel above €2 per liter once again.
According to an analysis by the German automobile club ADAC, the average price of Super E10 rose by 18.2 cents to €2.15 per liter between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Diesel prices increased even more, climbing 20.4 cents to an average of €2.11 per liter during the same period. The increases came just hours after the fuel tax reduction officially ended at midnight.
The price surge has drawn criticism from consumer advocates and competition experts, who argue that oil companies began raising prices before the tax break had actually expired. ADAC said the move was difficult to justify because many filling stations were still selling fuel purchased under the lower tax rate. The organization warned that any further price increases would be unjustified.
The chairman of Germany's Monopolies Commission, Tomaso Duso, also criticized the pricing strategy, saying fuel retailers appeared to use the approaching end of the discount to increase their profit margins. He noted that consumers received only a fraction of the intended tax relief, estimating that only 7 to 11 cents per liter of the roughly 17-cent discount were passed on, leaving more than half of the benefit with fuel companies.
Despite falling global crude oil prices in recent weeks, fuel prices had already been rising throughout the final days of the discount program. Analysts expect a clearer picture of the overall increase once full daily pricing data becomes available. The fuel tax reduction, which ran from May 1 to June 30, was introduced to help ease the burden of high energy costs and was estimated to cost the German government around €1.6 billion in lost tax revenue.