In a European comparison, Germany is in the middle when it comes to fuel prices – this is also due to the tank discount. Recently, premium petrol in particular has given way, while diesel remains expensive.
In terms of fuel prices, Germany is currently in the middle of the European range. According to data from the EU Commission, 15 EU countries are currently more expensive and 11 cheaper when it comes to E5 premium petrol (or Eurosuper), and 12 countries are more expensive and 14 cheaper when it comes to diesel.
In comparison with its direct neighboring countries, the Federal Republic performs even better, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Monday. Fuel is currently cheaper only in Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and especially Poland.
The European comparison refers to figures from last Monday; more up-to-date figures are not yet available at this level. Since then, prices in Germany have fallen a bit. Premium gasoline in particular gave way significantly. According to the traffic club, the E10 variety observed by the ADAC cost 1.869 euros on the national daily average on Sunday. That is 4.3 cents less than on Monday last week. Diesel cost 2.041 euros per liter – that’s 1.4 cents less.
According to the ADAC, both are far too expensive: “With the E10, we have at least an excess of 25 cents compared to what would result from decades of experience,” says fuel market expert Jürgen Albrecht. “With diesel, the situation is much worse – but here it is more difficult to estimate a specific value. The tax on diesel is currently around 3 cents lower than on E10 – but it is around 17 cents more expensive at the gas station.” He sees the somewhat lower oil prices as the main reason for the current decline.
Thanks to the fuel price brake?
The Federal Office suspects that the reason why Germany currently has relatively cheap fuel compared to many of its direct neighbors is the temporary reduction in energy tax on fuels as of June 1st. As recently as May 30, premium petrol from neighboring EU countries was only more expensive than in Germany in Denmark and the Netherlands, and diesel only in Denmark. If you calculate the tax cut – for diesel it is 16.7 cents per liter, for premium petrol 35.2 cents – that would have been the case on Monday of last week.
If one compares all EU countries, Germany would be the 5th most expensive country for super petrol and 4th for diesel if the tax cut is taken into account. There has been a shift here in the past few months: On January 31 – before the Ukraine war, fuel prices in Europe mixed up – in a European comparison, Germany was 8th place among the most expensive countries for diesel and 7th place for premium petrol.
In the UK, meanwhile, petrol prices have once again climbed to a record high. The average price on Sunday was 191.1 pence (222.9 cents), data processing company Experian said on Monday. A liter of diesel cost an average of 198.9 pence. Consumer advocates are calling on the government to further reduce fuel taxes. Just a few weeks ago, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak reduced the levy by 5 pence per liter – but drivers have not felt it so far.
