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Just like in the casino: refueling becomes a game of chance (archive image)
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Sven Hoppe / dpa
Those who fill up quickly in the morning on the way to work often get annoyed on the way home in the evening.
The price board of the same petrol station then usually shows lower numbers.
On average, petrol costs seven cents less in the evening, but depending on the region and petrol station it can be 20 cents.
The price trend resembles a zigzag curve that is increasingly erratic.
Up, down, up - gas stations raise prices seven times a day, and prices go down six times a day.
This is much more common than in the past.
The Federal Cartel Office, for example, observes half a dozen price peaks spread over the day.
Despite the constant ups and downs, some familiar price patterns can still be seen.
Refueling is most expensive in the morning in rush hour traffic.
At 7 o'clock the liter price for petrol is four cents above the daily average, for diesel it is three cents.
Later it tends to go down.
Refueling is cheapest at 7 p.m.
After that it's a game of chance: two cents up, then down again and up again from 10 p.m.
Since March, fuel prices have been largely stable overall.
On Tuesday, the national average was just under 1.50 euros for Super E10 and 1.36 euros for diesel.
The rising oil price, the VAT, which was raised to normal again, and the new CO2 price had caused the rise in the first few months of the year.
As a result, fuel is around 30 cents more expensive today than in November.
It was only with the increase in car traffic as a result of the Corona easing - and the beginning of the election campaign - that the debate about the gasoline price developed in the past few days.
"Cheap refueling options can be easily found using appropriate mobile phone apps," says the President of the Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt.
And one can assume that generally cheap petrol stations are usually relatively cheap during the day - and expensive ones are expensive.
fww / dpa
