Status: 07/27/2022 3:25 p.m
Gasoline and diesel prices have fallen significantly this week, in some cases even to pre-Ukraine war levels. However, experts are not assuming a lasting relaxation.
Fuel prices have fallen significantly. Today, a liter of Super E10 costs 1.75 euros on average nationwide, which is almost four cents cheaper than a week ago. The prices for E10 have been falling continuously for almost two months and have now fallen back to the value of early February for the first time. This emerges from current figures from the ADAC.
At the end of February, the tensions leading up to the Russian attack had caused fuel prices to rise. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prices at the pumps have increased significantly, also due to high raw material prices.
The price of diesel is not falling to the same extent
Despite the currently falling prices, the ADAC sees no reason for a lasting all-clear: “We have a dramatically high price level if you calculate the tax rebate,” said fuel market expert Jürgen Albrecht. The temporary tax reduction in the form of the tank discount is the only reason that the prices are currently below 2 euros. He expects prices to rise again significantly when the tank discount expires on August 31 of this year as planned.
The discount reduces energy tax by 35.2 cents per liter of premium petrol and 16.7 cents per liter of diesel. The price for a liter of diesel, in particular, is still well above the pre-war level: “With diesel, it looks far more dramatic at the gas station,” said Albrecht – although diesel has also become 3.5 cents cheaper compared to the previous week. A liter currently costs 1.93 euros – on February 23, the price per liter was still 1.66 euros.
In the weeks after the war began, the price of fuel rose much more than E10. Diesel prices have also fallen, but not as much as petrol prices.
Oil companies have quintupled profits
Especially with regard to the oil refineries, in which the raw material is processed into gasoline, the fuel market expert demands: “What we need is more competition.” Because although oil prices are falling, fuel prices are not going down in the same proportion. This allows the oil companies to make high profits: According to industry information, the profit margins of the companies have more than quintupled since January.