Overview
- The two‑month fuel‑tax rebate expired at the end of June and pump prices jumped in early July, with diesel and some petrol averages returning to around or above €2 per litre.
- The Bundeskartellamt found roughly 80 percent of the rebate reached motorists, with a remaining gap of about 2.9 cents for diesel and 3.7 cents for E5 petrol, and it credited the 12:00 price‑change rule with cutting intraday price swings from as many as 50 changes to about eight.
- Renewed US–Iran hostilities and a partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have pushed TTF European gas prices up roughly 20 percent since late June, raising the cost of summer purchases that gas suppliers use to refill winter storage.
- Germany’s gas storage levels are lower than in recent years at about 43 percent, which means higher summer wholesale prices are likely to translate into higher winter bills for households and added cost pressure on haulage and logistics firms.
- Political responses have shifted from short emergency relief to structural options after the Bundesrat rejected a Luxembourg‑style price cap, with transport groups pushing for permanent tax and toll relief and critics saying the temporary rebate was poorly targeted.