Overview
- Prices surged after the federal ‘Tankrabatt’ expired at the end of June and stations implemented higher lists on July 1, lifting national averages back above €2 per liter according to ADAC data and multiple reports.
- A shortfall in diesel supply linked to Russian refinery outages and an export restriction has pushed diesel futures higher and in some places made diesel cost more than petrol.
- The law that limits price increases to once daily at 12:00 has been widely breached—about 238,000 suspected violations were recorded in the first month—but enforcement is fragmented and only Lower Saxony has issued significant fines so far.
- The federal government has ruled out a new tax-funded rebate or a national price cap, saying the budget is tight, while the SPD and regional politicians press for measures such as caps or other market interventions.
- Drivers are changing behavior by refueling before noon or across the border in Czechia to save money, and regulators including the Bundeskartellamt are investigating refinery owners for possible market conduct that could explain how price moves reached consumers.