German fuel prices surge above €2 as tax discount ends, ADAC and Monopolies Commission accuse oil firms of preemptive hikes

End of the subsidy

On 1 July the federal government’s fuel tax subsidy of 16.7 cents per litre expired at midnight, ending a relief measure that had been in place since May. The removal was meant to be cushioned by the so-called 12‑Uhr‑Regel, but prices rose sharply before and after the deadline.

How the 12 o’clock rule was used

Under German law petrol stations may raise prices only once a day, at noon, while they can cut them at any time. On Tuesday 30 June, the discount’s final day, stations posted a record midday jump of 20.3 cents for E10 and 24.0 cents for diesel. Instead of the usual sharp evening retreat, they let prices fall only 6.5 and 8.4 cents respectively, keeping them artificially high overnight. By Wednesday morning E10 stood at €1.971 and diesel at €1.913. At midday on Wednesday a further increase of 18.2 cents for petrol and 20.4 cents for diesel pushed the national averages to €2.15 and €2.11.

Critics accuse oil firms

The ADAC motoring club called the early moves unjustified.

“There is still cheaply taxed fuel in the tanks at many filling stations, so prices shouldn’t have risen so sharply on the last day of June.”

Tomaso Duso, chairman of the Monopolies Commission, said only 7 to 11 cents of the 16.7 cent discount had been reaching consumers in the final days and called the margin expansion “alarming from a competition perspective”. IW economist Thomas Puls estimated that diesel prices were around 6 cents and petrol 9 cents above what world market levels could explain. The fuel station tenants’ association TVI also attacked the oil conglomerates; a spokesman described their behaviour as “a prime example of impudence”.

Pächter brace for customer anger

Station tenants, who earn only 0.8 to 1.2 cents per litre sold, fear a return of the aggression that flared during the earlier price shock. Berlin tenant Steven Gröbler said he had authorised his staff to issue house bans after daily insults and threats. Other tenants reported similar clashes, with many customers wrongly blaming the pump attendants for the hikes.

Government steps up scrutiny

The Federal Cartel Office has pledged to monitor oil company pricing closely following the subsidy’s end.