Italian petrol prices pass €2 per litre on ordinary roads for the first time since September 2023

Price threshold exceeded across Italian roads

Data released on 20 August 2026 by the Fuel Price Observatory of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy showed average self-service petrol prices reaching €2.002 per litre on the ordinary road network, up from €1.997 on Wednesday. Self-service diesel on ordinary roads rose to €2.116 per litre, up from €2.107. On motorways, self-service prices reached €2.077 per litre for petrol and €2.186 per litre for diesel. Filling a 50-litre tank on a motorway costs €103.85 for petrol and €109.30 for diesel. The rise brings ordinary road petrol above €2 per litre for the first time since September 2023, when weekly averages between 18 and 24 September stood at €2.001 per litre. The multi-year peak remains €2.2 per litre, reached in March 2022 following the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Regional disparities and motorway costs

Fuel costs vary across Italian regions, with several territories above the national average. Regional data indicates that Bolzano recorded the highest self-service petrol average at €2.041 per litre, followed by Calabria at €2.025, Basilicata and Puglia at €2.020, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia at €2.018. In Umbria and Abruzzo, petrol reached €2.001 per litre, while Umbria registered diesel at €2.110 per litre, LPG at €0.771, and methane at €1.632 per litre. Other regions remained slightly below €2, including Lombardia at €1.998, Campania at €1.997, Emilia-Romagna at €1.994, and Piemonte at €1.994. The price increases follow crude oil price movements linked to the ongoing war involving Iran.

Consumer associations demand tax intervention

Consumer advocacy groups called on the Italian government to expand excise duty relief before current measures expire between 24 and 25 August 2026. Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union, urged ministers to increase the current 14-cent diesel excise reduction and introduce relief for petrol drivers.

We ask the government to intervene immediately, before the 24 August deadline, to increase the diesel reduction from 14 to 30 cents, so as to bring the price below 2 euros per litre on motorways, and to finally do something for petrol car drivers: a 15-cent cut is urgent to return to a reasonable price of 1.9 euros per litre on motorways.

Consumer group Codacons reported that Italian drivers spent €782 million more on fuel in July compared to previous levels, projecting €1.8 billion in additional spending across July and August. The organisation called for cuts covering petrol, noting that over 17 million registered cars in Italy use petrol.

The government must intervene urgently not only to extend until the first week of September the cut on diesel excise duties expiring next 25 August, but also to extend it to petrol considering that over 17 million cars in Italy are powered by this fuel type. In the absence of measures, the summer return travel will turn into a massacre for family wallets, and we expect an incisive measure from the executive in the coming hours that can no longer be postponed.

Consumption patterns shift across transport sectors

Monthly statistics published by industry association Unem showed that high fuel costs affected demand in July 2026. Total petroleum product sales reached approximately 4.7 million tonnes, a 4.2% drop compared to July 2025. Motor diesel sales fell 8.4% (-191,000 tonnes), with a 13.5% drop in extra-network industrial transport demand and a 3.9% decline at retail pumps. Petrol consumption rose 3.1% to 900,000 tonnes (+27,000 tonnes), its highest monthly volume in 16 years. Aviation jet fuel consumption increased 3.6% (+16,000 tonnes) to an all-time monthly high, automotive LPG grew 3.5% (+5,000 tonnes), and marine bunker fuel rose 5.9%.