Drivers pay more at the pump as Rhine runs dry

Low water levels on the Rhine are pushing up fuel prices, the ADAC motoring association's fuel market expert Christian Laberer said on Tuesday.

Laberer said the current low water on the Rhine was "driving up prices," but added that it was only one of several factors influencing current fuel prices.

The Rhine is also used as a transport route for oil, petrol and diesel. Shipping fuel by large tanker vessels is generally significantly cheaper than using comparatively small lorries.

According to Laberer, the current low water levels were causing logistics costs for the transport of fuels and certain intermediate products to rise "in some cases significantly," though the industry said supplies remained secure for now.

He added that the German market was not supplied exclusively via the Rhine but through a "network of seaports, refineries, pipelines and rail and road transport." For that reason, he said, the low water was currently contributing to higher fuel prices "primarily at a regional level."

Federal states experience different price effects

This is consistent with the regional fuel price distribution visible on the fuel price comparison website Tankerkoenig. As of Tuesday morning, the most expensive German federal states for petrol were North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, followed by Bremen, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

For diesel, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse ranked second. 

At the district level, the most expensive areas are concentrated in the western half of Germany, while prices are lowest in Bavaria, especially in its southern half.

The differences amount to a few cents - around €0.07 ($0.08) between Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia or Hesse for petrol, and around €0.08 for diesel.