Overview
- Average German petrol and diesel prices rose above €2 per liter in early August, with EU Commission data showing roughly €2.18 for gasoline and €2.20 for diesel.
- Shell reported a roughly $9.8 billion adjusted net profit for Q2 and BP more than doubled its quarterly profit, highlighting a sharp profit jump for major oil groups while consumers pay higher pump prices.
- The Bundeskartellamt has opened a dozen procedures into refinery pricing to check cost allocation and price justification, but competition law does not allow the regulator to order immediate cuts to retail prices.
- Global supply tightness from Middle East shipping risks and Russian export limits, together with low Rhine water levels that would require about 3,000 extra tanker trucks per day to replace barge traffic, is putting special pressure on diesel supplies.
- Political responses are divided: the SPD has proposed a fuel price cap, the Union favors targeted measures such as higher commuter allowances, and the federal government says it will not commit to specific new relief; past measures like the 2022 Tankrabatt partly ended up benefiting refiners rather than fully reaching drivers.