Italy fuel prices hit €2 as diesel excise cut evaporates before August exodus

Italian motorists beginning the August holiday exodus are facing the highest pump prices of the summer, with petrol and diesel both hovering around the €2 per litre mark. A government excise cut on diesel, approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 July and in force from midnight on 28 July, has been almost entirely swallowed by rising wholesale costs, leaving consumers and businesses with little relief.

Price surge at the pump

On Saturday 1 August, the national average self-service price for petrol reached €1.998 per litre, up from €1.995 the previous day and €1.982 on 27 July. Diesel stood at €2.092, compared with €2.080 on Friday and €2.185 before the cut. On the motorway network, prices were even higher: €2.083 for petrol and €2.171 for diesel. The highest regional prices were recorded in Bolzano (€2.031 for petrol), Valle d'Aosta and Friuli Venezia Giulia, while the lowest were in the Marche region. Brent crude closed at $87 a barrel, offering little respite.

The excise reduction of 17 cents per litre, applied only to diesel, briefly pushed the price down to €2.074 on Wednesday 29 July and €2.066 on Thursday. By Saturday, however, the effective discount had shrunk to less than 9 cents. The measure is costed at €105.8 million for 2026, covered from state revenue already collected and still unassigned as of 22 July, and is set to expire on 6 August. It followed a gap from 4 July, when the government let the seventh consecutive extension lapse and excise rates returned to their ordinary level.

Government response and upcoming decisions

The Council of Ministers on Tuesday 4 August, the last before the summer break, is expected to address the fuel price crisis. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti will also appear before the budget committees that day and in the Chamber on 5 August to discuss the national energy safeguard clause. The pre-Council agenda circulated for 3 August contains no reference to an excise measure, raising uncertainty about whether the government will act before the 6 August deadline.

Among the options under consideration are a ministerial decree extending the cut through a "mobile excise" mechanism, funded by the extra VAT revenue collected in July, or a new decree-law if those funds prove insufficient. No decision has been announced on whether any extension would also cover petrol.

Impact on businesses and consumers

The CGIA artisans' association reported that diesel prices have risen 20.9% since the start of the US-Iran conflict in the Persian Gulf, an increase of 36 cents per litre. Filling the tank of a truck under 7.5 tonnes now costs €1,040, €180 more than on 27 February. Petrol has climbed 19.6%, or 33 cents, over the same period. The association warned that the government's €320 million tax credit for diesel covers only about 22% of heavy vehicles, leaving small hauliers, taxi drivers and commercial agents exposed.

The measures taken at national level alone are not enough. An intervention is needed particularly at European level, to allow individual countries to lower taxes on energy products in a stable and lasting way without jeopardising public finances.

Consumer group Codacons calculated that fuel spending in July was €782 million higher than in July 2025, even though the excise discount was in force for only 7 of the month's 31 days. The state, it added, collected roughly €2.9 billion in VAT and excise from the price increases.

Despite the excise discount, a measure that in July was in effect for a total of 7 days out of 31, spending on fuel on Italian roads and motorways rose by 782 million euros last month compared to July 2025.

What happens next

If no new measure is adopted by 6 August, excise rates will revert to their previous level on 7 August, likely pushing diesel back above €2.10 and petrol firmly past the €2 threshold. The government's room for manoeuvre is limited by the cost of further cuts and by the trajectory of international oil prices, which remain sensitive to the Middle East conflict. Giorgetti's parliamentary addresses this week will signal how Rome intends to balance fiscal constraints with the mounting pressure from businesses and households.