Munich/Berlin. While fuel prices climb from record to record, the coalition is working on quick relief. Union parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei wants immediate measures on October 1st, as he said in the “Early Start” of RTL and ntv. “What people need now is not the prospect of relief, but what they need is relief.” The SPD also wants quick measures.
Premium gasoline of the E10 variety achieved the fourth record in a row in the nationwide daily average on Tuesday. A liter cost 2.30 euros, 1.4 cents more than the day before, according to the ADAC. Compared to the level before the outbreak of the Iran war, the price has increased by more than 52 cents per liter.
Diesel also became more expensive again: 2,422 euros per liter is one cent more than the day before. This means that the gap to the previous record of 2.447 euros per liter from April continues to shrink. Compared to the last day before the war, the price has increased by almost 68 cents per liter. And the signals for further developments point upwards: The fuel price portal “Tankerkönig” determined slightly higher prices on Wednesday morning than at comparable times on Tuesday.
Union parliamentary group leader Frei said in the “early start” that he did not expect the cause of the high fuel prices to ease quickly. He mentioned a further reduction in energy tax based on the model of the fuel discount from May and June as well as a reduction in VAT on fuels from 19 to 7 percent as possibilities for relief. The state benefits from the high prices through VAT. “Giving something back would therefore be an obvious measure.”
However, this coming together could prove difficult. Because while the SPD is calling for, among other things, an excess profits tax and a fuel price cap, the Union is skeptical here. Frei lehnte eine Übergewinnsteuer ab. Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) also wants to specifically relieve the burden on certain population groups through direct payments. According to the Ministry of Finance, this is now feasible, but so far only 19 percent of taxpayers have the necessary bank details.
When asked by the dpa, Ifo expert Florian Neumeier spoke out against broad measures such as another fuel discount. "If the crisis lasts longer, we can discuss relieving the burden on low-income households. But that shouldn't happen with a watering can, but with a direct transfer," he says. "People who don't have a car but suffer from expensive heating oil or gas also benefit from this. And the important incentive to save fuel because of the high prices is retained." In addition, a fuel discount is also problematic from an environmental point of view.
The economist is also skeptical about a price cap. He is not aware of any study that shows that this actually reduces prices. In addition, the actual costs of the petroleum industry have to be determined and that cannot be realistically implemented. And an excess profits tax would also be difficult to implement and would not lead to lower fuel prices.
The price of crude oil is typically the primary driver of changes in gasoline prices. There were at least slight signs of relaxation here on Wednesday morning. Whether and how quickly this will arrive at German gas stations remains to be seen. There are also other factors affecting the price of fuel, such as transport and refinery capacities. In addition, the price of diesel is typically more vulnerable to crises - which is why the fuel currently costs more than gasoline, even though it is taxed lower.
Prices can vary significantly regionally and depending on the type of gas station. In addition, the price fluctuates greatly throughout the day - after the price jump at midday, fuel is usually more than 20 cents more expensive than immediately before. In the afternoon they usually fall again quickly until they usually reach their daily low in the late morning.
At the particularly expensive motorway filling stations, it has recently happened that more expensive premium fuels exceeded the daily high of 3 euros per liter. At particularly cheap gas stations, the cheaper E10 could sometimes be found for prices around 2.10 euros in the late morning.
