Politics and psychology: Gasoline prices in Germany fall after US elections

Munich. The hope of an end to the Iran war after the US parliamentary elections is causing gasoline prices at German gas stations to fall.

On Thursday, according to the ADAC, a liter of Super E10 still cost 1.949 euros on a nationwide daily average, which was a good six cents or 3.2 percent less than a week before. Unlike in normal times, diesel is still significantly more expensive than premium gasoline, but the price of diesel also fell by a good six cents to 2.188 euros on a national daily average in the same period.

According to analysts, the outcome of last week's US parliamentary elections plays a significant role in this development: President Donald Trump's Republican Party lost the election. Since Trump started the Iran war, which was unpopular with many US voters, hopes that it would end increased, and crude oil prices fell.

Recently, Trump has dampened this hope again, so that the price of crude oil for a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent rose again to a good 93 dollars on Thursday. But that was still significantly cheaper than at the end of October. Before the congressional elections, the price of crude oil was just over $113.

However, the fact that both falling and rising crude oil prices have a direct impact on gasoline prices is a psychological market effect: It usually takes several weeks for crude oil to be transported from the source to a refinery and processed into fuel.