As of: April 8, 2024, 8:06 p.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
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While gasoline has been becoming more expensive for weeks, the price of diesel has barely budged. BFT boss Stephan Zieger speaks of a “real shortage” of gasoline.
Munich – Gasoline has been getting more and more expensive since mid-March. The price for the Super E10 variety has risen for the third week in a row, as the ADAC announced last Wednesday. The nationwide daily average on Tuesday was 1.833 euros per liter of fuel. That was 2.2 cents more than a week ago and 7.3 cents more than March 12th. The price of diesel, on the other hand, hardly changed. On Tuesday it was 1.732 euros per liter: 0.2 cents higher than a week ago and 1.5 cents more than three weeks ago. But why has the price of gasoline risen so sharply?
High gasoline prices: “We are struggling with a real shortage”
Stephan Zieger, managing director of the Federal Association of Independent Gas Stations (BFT), explains in
Wirtschaftswoche
: “The price of gasoline is currently determined by those who have little in stock and have to buy now. We are struggling with a real shortage and also with a feeling of scarcity: there is still enough oil and gasoline on the world market. But prices are rising because of the growing tensions in the Middle East.” This leads to uncertainty among buyers, which in turn leads to a tightening in the market.
Cars park in front of a gas station in the evening. © Carsten Koall/dpa/Symbolbild
He further explains to the newspaper: “In anticipation of a possible shortage, gasoline is no longer sold so cheaply.” This is not a new phenomenon, says Zieger, because if the world situation stabilizes again, the market will immediately go in the other direction.
High fuel prices: Why is diesel less affected?
The ADAC, on the other hand, sees the higher oil price as the main reason for the current increase in gasoline. According to the traffic club, the fact that diesel is less affected by this is probably due to the impending end of the heating season and overall weaker demand. According to Zieger, one reason is that many diesel vehicles are being replaced by gasoline engines.
In spring it is often observed that diesel prices fall in relation to gasoline. The background is the then falling demand for heating oil, which is very similar to diesel. However, at just over 10 cents, the difference between the two types of fuel is still significantly lower than the tax difference and the long-term average from the time before the Ukraine war.
With material from dpa