Record at German filling stations: ADAC: Diesel price climbs to all-time high

Record at German petrol stations
ADAC: Diesel price climbs to all-time high

The fuel prices in Germany are rising and rising – a record has now been reached for diesel. According to ADAC, the price at German petrol stations on Sundays is an average of 1.555 euros per liter.

The price of diesel at German petrol stations has risen to a record high. The national daily average on Sunday was 1.555 euros per liter, as the ADAC reports. It exceeded the old high of 1.554 euros from August 2012.

Diesel and Super E10 had recently reached nine-year highs. According to the ADAC and the Mineralölwirtschaftsverband, the most important price drivers are crude oil prices, which were recently in the range of multi-year highs after the Corona slump. In addition, the stronger dollar is noticeable as crude oil is settled in the US currency.

According to ADAC, the diesel price reached its previous all-time high on August 26, 2012 at 1.554 euros. On September 13, 2012, the highest gasoline price to date was registered, at 1.709 euros. The price of crude oil is currently lower than in 2012; a barrel (159 liters) of the Brent variety currently costs around 83 US dollars (just under 72 euros). However, the dollar is significantly stronger than it was nine years ago. That makes oil imports to Europe more expensive.

In the case of diesel, this is also reinforced by the high demand for heating oil that is typical of autumn. In addition, since the beginning of the year, the carbon dioxide price of 25 euros per ton has resulted in an additional surcharge of around 6 to 8 cents per liter.

Taxes are the main burden

Taxes make up the bulk of fuel prices. For gasoline, for example, the energy tax rate (the former mineral oil tax) is 65.45 cents per liter. With diesel it is 47.04 cents per liter. In addition, VAT of 19 percent is due on all energy sources. It is levied on the price of goods and the energy tax. Overall, around 64 percent of the fuel bill ends up as taxes with the state, as the ADAC reports. The remainder is used to pay for the actual costs for the product from the source of crude oil to transport and further processing to the petrol pump, as well as the CO2 levy.

The development is particularly drastic if you compare it with the previous year. At that time, oil and fuel prices had reached lows due to the Corona crisis before the trend reversal occurred at the beginning of November 2020. The rise is also causing political debates, including the outgoing Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) recently calling for effective countermeasures to be prepared in the event of a further sharp rise in energy and fuel prices.

.
source site