ADAC study: Fluctuations in petrol and diesel prices - when refueling is cheapest

Created: 06/15/2022, 05:30

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

If you fill up at the right time, you can save significantly more money on petrol and diesel than before.

This is the result of a current ADAC study.

Munich – Fuel prices are rising despite the tank discount.

However, by choosing the right time to refuel, drivers can save significantly more money than in the previous year.

This is especially true for diesel drivers.

As a current ADAC evaluation of average fuel prices over the course of the day shows, diesel car drivers can save more than 16 cents per liter if they fill up at the cheapest time of the day instead of at the most expensive time.

With Super E10, the savings potential is still ten cents.

As in the previous year, the ADAC registered seven regular price peaks throughout the day.

The trend towards more and more wave movements over the course of the day, which has been registered for years, has thus been broken.

The aim of the investigation was to determine the average daily curve for petrol and diesel prices for the month of May and for the entire German fuel market.

ADAC study: refueling is most expensive in the morning

As before, refueling is most expensive in the morning.

The intraday peak in fuel prices is reached after 7am.

Between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., prices fluctuate quite a bit and are almost always above the level of the rest of the day.

From midday, the average prices for petrol and diesel fall in regular waves until around 10 p.m.

Drivers can benefit from the lowest prices of the day between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The period between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. is also relatively cheap.

There are hardly any price changes during the night.

Nighttime prices are in the mid-range compared to other times of the day.

The display panel at a gas station continuously shows fuel prices of over two euros.

© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

According to ADAC, it is striking how expensive it is, especially for diesel drivers, to refuel in the morning.

The diesel price in the morning after 7 a.m. is 12 cents above the daily average price.

At peak times, petrol costs a good six cents more than the daily average.

The subsequent wave movements in the prices of both types of fuel take place largely in parallel.

Diesel and petrol: The price range for refueling times is widening

Last year, the range between the most expensive and cheapest time to fill up was significantly smaller.

At that time, filling station customers could save more than seven cents per liter of Super E10 and around six and a half cents per liter of diesel by choosing the right time to fill up.

According to the ADAC, the difference determined in May 2022 offers a significantly greater incentive to head for a gas station at the cheapest possible time.

The ADAC assumes that there will be significant price differences over the course of the day even after the temporary tax cut introduced on June 1, 2022.

Price-conscious drivers should consistently take advantage of the increased opportunities to refuel cheaply.