Most drivers know that refueling is more expensive on the motorway, but the Federal Cartel Office has recently observed a growing gap – especially for one type of fuel.
The Federal Cartel Office has recorded a growing price gap between motorway petrol stations and other petrol stations. The price increases have “increased significantly again in recent weeks,” said Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt. “At the moment, you pay over 40 cents more per liter for petrol and diesel on the motorway.”
The price gap has recently widened significantly, especially for diesel. While it was still around 36 cents per liter in the first quarter, it was recently around 41 cents. For premium gasoline of the E5 grade, it was still around 39 cents in the spring, but now it is almost 42. The Federal Cartel Office advises consumers to avoid motorway gas stations and use fuel apps. The ADAC recently made a similar statement based on its own, albeit much smaller, sample.
According to the Federal Cartel Office, however, the price differences between the federal states have declined somewhat. On June 30, there was a 6 cent difference between the most expensive and cheapest federal states for diesel. The difference for petrol was 5 cents. Some eastern German states were still among the more expensive regions, it said.
The Federal Cartel Office sees several possible explanations for the differences. The eastern federal states are more severely affected by the embargo on Russian oil and the PCK and Leuna refineries are not yet able to operate at 100 percent capacity. In addition, imports of finished fuels from Russia, which have also traditionally played a larger role in the east, have also fallen away.
Source: Stern
