With the introduction of Germany's fuel tax discount, prices at gas stations across the country fell significantly on Friday, though the previous day's prices had also been exceptionally high. From Thursday to Friday midday, the price for a liter of E10 dropped by 15.8 cents according to ADAC, while diesel fell by 16.2 cents. The fuel discount, the reduction in energy tax, amounts to 16.7 cents per liter.
At 12:15 PM, the nationwide average price for E10 stood at €2.076 according to ADAC, with diesel at €2.177 per liter. Since April, gas stations have been permitted to raise prices only once daily at 12:00 noon, though they can lower them as often as they wish. In fact, prices fell steadily from the moment the fuel discount took effect at midnight on Friday. Before noon, they reached €1.955 per liter for regular gasoline and €2.044 per liter for diesel, according to ADAC.
The Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), responsible for monitoring prices, also reported a significant decline. However, the authority emphasized that Thursday's price spikes "were among the highest we have observed since the introduction of the 12 o'clock rule."
Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt reaffirmed on Friday that his agency would "very closely monitor the price development, make it transparent, and examine the extent to which the corporations fulfill their fiduciary duty and pass on the relief." The oil companies "are at best trustees of this relief; it is not intended for them."
He reported a "remarkable development": at midday Friday, some gas stations raised prices very sharply, while others did not or barely at all. Mundt advised: "Drivers can take advantage of the price differences; price comparison apps point the way to affordable gas stations."
The federal government decided to reduce tax rates on fuels by 16.7 cents per liter for May and June. This will cost the state approximately €1.6 billion. SPD parliamentary deputy chairman Armand Zorn stated: "Starting today, we are creating the basis for targeted relief for commuters and businesses."
Through the temporary reduction in energy tax, it is possible to "very quickly provide tangible support to those who urgently need it." He urged that oil companies must pass on the tax reduction and lower prices accordingly.
However, criticism of the fuel discount continued. The discount increases demand for oil, "this leads to further price increases, which helps foreign exporters but not those who drive cars and have to heat their homes," said Otmar Edenhofer, chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), to newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.
The government could better protect citizens from rising prices. "We should respond to the burdens arising from the current crisis with income support focused on hardship groups," Edenhofer said. In the medium term, Europe must reduce its demand for oil and gas to gain independence from exporters. "This would give us significant leverage to contribute to lowering oil and gas prices internationally." This is not only climate policy but also geopolitics.
For Greenpeace mobility expert Marissa Reiserer, the "expensive fuel price brake is heading in exactly the wrong direction." It probably fills the pockets of oil corporations and lets commuters with large combustion engine vehicles benefit the most.
The fuel discount is somewhat more expensive than the federal government's annual contribution to the Deutschland-Ticket. This contribution is, however, "far more advantageous" in terms of climate and social policy, Reiserer added. "The success of the Deutschland-Ticket saved at least 500 billion liters of fuel last year." The many million public transport subscriptions "replace car journeys, relieve roads and wallets, advance climate protection—and make Germany less dependent on oil imports."
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