Relief: The fuel discount does not go entirely to the consumer

Munich. According to economists, the fuel discount is not fully reaching consumers two weeks after its launch. Calculations by Ifo and DIW see some significant gaps. The Federal Cartel Office also does not believe that the transfer is completely complete.

Tomaso Duso from DIW comes to the conclusion that only around two thirds of the tax cut of 16.7 cents reached consumers. “Since October 1st, prices in Germany have fallen on average by 10 to 11 cents per liter more than in France, where there is no discount,” he says.

In addition, the distribution has now decreased: since October 8th it has only been an average of 9 cents. However, Duso restricts that the question of how well the discount is passed on also depends on the day of the comparison. If you don't take September 30th, but rather September 27th, the transmission rate would be over 80 percent. However, the observation that it is decreasing remains.

The Ifo estimates slightly higher transfers - in the period from October 7th to 13th 13 cents for premium E10 petrol, 14.7 cents for E15 and 13.5 cents for diesel. Here too, there remains a gap to the 16.7 cent tax cut. Last weekend in particular, the Munich economic researchers found low levels of sharing.

The Federal Cartel Office also sees deficits. “The evaluations so far indicate that the tax cut has been passed on to a large extent, but not completely, at the level of refineries and wholesalers,” says President Andreas Mundt. “The gap is slightly larger for petrol than for diesel.” However, it is still too early for a comprehensive assessment.

The Fuels and Energy trade association (en2x), on the other hand, has always emphasized that the discount is passed on in full by its members. “Contrary calculations do not take into account, for example, that the costs of meeting the legally required organic quota and for transport - currently due to low water levels in the Rhine - are constantly changing and have an influence on the average end customer prices,” it said recently.

Super E10 is currently a good three cents more expensive than on the first day of the tank discount. According to the ADAC, the nationwide daily average on Wednesday cost 2.146 euros per liter. Diesel is slightly cheaper than on the first day of the fuel discount. On Wednesday, 2,255 euros per liter were due. Both prices have only moved relatively weakly in the last few days.

Compared to other European countries, fuels in Germany are still rather expensive, as shown by data from the EU Commission as of Monday. Even with a fuel discount, the average price for E10 was the fourth highest in the EU - well behind Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland and just ahead of France. The German diesel price was the sixth highest - well behind Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands and a few cents behind Belgium and France.