German fuel costs jump after expiry of rebate

German drivers faced higher fuel prices on Wednesday after the expiry of a rebate introduced to cushion the impact of the oil shock following the outbreak of the Iran war.

At 8 am (0600 GMT), Super E10 premium petrol was on average 13.4 cents ($0.15) more expensive than at the same time on Tuesday, according to the ADAC motorists' association. The increase for diesel was even steeper, at 15.6 cents.

The German government introduced the fuel rebate in May, reducing the energy tax on diesel and petrol by 16.7 cents per litre. 

Although the rebate expired at midnight, petrol stations were unable to immediately raise their prices because of a separate rule introduced in April that limits petrol stations to a single daily price increase at noon, while being able to reduce prices at any time.

Many operators appeared to reduce prices only slightly following Tuesday's midday spike. Typically, prices had fallen significantly by the next morning after highs at midday.

Following the typical noon jump, the nationwide average price for E10 rose to €2.15 per litre, and to €2.11 for diesel, a smaller midday increase than on previous days.

ADAC said June was the cheapest month for petrol since the Iran war began at the end of February. A litre of Super E10 cost an average of €1.87 during the month, 11.3 cents less than in May and 23.9 cents less than in April - the most expensive month to date.

Diesel cost an average of €1.82 for the month, down 17.3 cents from May and 44.5 cents from April. The association said the fall compared with May was primarily due to lower crude oil prices resulting from the easing of tensions in the Middle East, while the drop from April can also be attributed to the fuel rebate.