As of: 03/16/2022 4:12 p.m
Despite falling crude oil prices, the cost of petrol and diesel is hardly falling. Economics Minister Habeck has asked the Federal Cartel Office for an examination. The office announced that it would monitor all market levels.
The Bundeskartellamt is closely monitoring the sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices. “Due to the geopolitical situation, prices have suddenly risen across the board,” said the President of the Bonn authority, Andreas Mundt. “If crude oil prices are now falling again and gas station prices don’t follow suit or even continue to rise, you have to take a close look at that.”
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck had asked the competition authorities to examine it. “My house has asked the Federal Cartel Office to monitor petrol and diesel prices very closely and to take action if there is any indication of abusive behavior,” said the Green politician. The position of power held by the large gas station chains in the German fuel market has been a structural problem for a long time. “It must not be the case that companies make inappropriate profits from the current situation,” said Habeck. And further: “If there are indications of this, for example when comparing price movements in other EU countries, we will prepare legislative measures to enable the Federal Cartel Office to better monitor the market for fuels.” The Ministry of Economic Affairs is not authorized to issue directives to the Cartel Office. However, it can ask the authority to take action in critical situations.
Hardly any relief despite falling oil prices
After the extreme rise of the past few weeks, fuel prices have recently fallen slowly. Diesel became cheaper by 1.5 cents and cost a nationwide daily average of 2.292 euros per liter on Tuesday, as announced by the ADAC. E10 cost 1.1 cents less and cost 2.192 euros per liter. Nevertheless, the prices at the gas stations are much higher than before the start of the Ukraine war.
The price of oil, on the other hand, has returned to its pre-war level. A barrel (159 liters) of Brent was traded on Wednesday for around 100 dollars, i.e. almost 91 euros. According to the ADAC, this corresponded to a price drop of 25 dollars compared to the previous week.
Various reasons for high prices
However, the Bundeskartellamt pointed out that, in addition to changes in the price of crude oil, other market developments and upheavals at the refinery and wholesale level caused by the Ukraine crisis could also affect prices at the pumps. Imports from Russia also played a not insignificant role for individual products.
The office therefore announced that it would monitor all market levels: from the crude oil market to refineries and wholesalers to gas station operators. A comprehensive observation of “all stages of the value chain” is “essential” for an assessment of the situation, according to President Mundt. According to the Bundeskartellamt, it uses data from the Market Transparency Unit for Fuels for the monitoring. They currently receive information on the prices of the various providers, but not on the quantities delivered. “A legal obligation for market participants to also provide volume data to the market transparency office would significantly improve the informative value of our data,” explained Mundt.