Since Germany introduced the so-called noon rule at petrol stations in early April, the daily price gap for fuel has reached its highest level on record, according to the ADAC motoring club. On an average day in May, the difference stood at 14.6 cents per litre for Super E10 and 18.4 cents per litre for diesel, figures the club described as unprecedented.
The noon rule, a central element of the federal government's first package of measures in response to the energy crisis, prohibits petrol stations from raising fuel prices more than once a day, at midday. Price reductions, however, remain permitted at any time.
ADAC analysed prices from more than 14,000 petrol stations throughout May. The daily price gaps for both Super E10 and diesel were significantly above the figures recorded in the same period the previous year, setting new records. The previous highs, 12.5 cents for Super E10 and 16.7 cents for diesel, were both registered in May 2022, during the energy crisis that followed the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
According to the analysis, the lowest fuel prices of the day are called just before noon. After twelve o'clock, prices rise sharply, then fall continuously throughout the afternoon, dropping below the daily average price around 5.30 pm. From five o'clock in the morning, prices fall further still. Drivers filling a 50-litre tank with Super E10 can save an average of €7.30 by timing their stop carefully; diesel drivers can save as much as €9.20.
Overall, however, price levels have risen. The mineral oil companies, the club explained, had reacted to their reduced flexibility in making price adjustments with what ADAC described as "significant risk premiums", an outcome the organisation said it had feared from the outset.
From June, when the fuel discount scheme runs out, ADAC expects prices to exceed two euros per litre. "The war in the Middle East will continue to drive energy prices in particular," a spokesperson said. The coalition, she added, must agree on short-term measures to relieve the burden on those most affected.
ADAC identified a reduction in the electricity tax for private households as "a possible instrument", while an increase in the commuter flat rate also remained an option. "Allowing the fuel discount to lapse without an imminent follow-up measure is not justifiable against the backdrop of the ongoing challenges," the spokesperson emphasised.
The parliamentary groups of the CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag announced on Wednesday evening that the fuel discount would expire on 30 June. The scheme had been "designed as a time-limited measure from the outset", they stated. The two months of the scheme are estimated to have cost around €1.6 billion.
"In times of strained budgets, such a permanent subsidy is not sustainable either from a fiscal or an economic policy perspective," the factions said. They did not rule out "further measures", but stressed that these must "target relief for small and medium incomes and the middle class in a significantly more focused way".
The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) also called for a reduction in the electricity tax for private households, arguing that this would provide "direct relief" for consumers. The environmental organisation Greenpeace proposed one-off payments to people on low incomes in rural areas, who it said were the hardest hit by the price rally at the pumps. It also suggested that the nine-euro public transport ticket could be relaunched.
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