The reduction in the energy tax, which has been in effect since midnight, has led to some significant drops in fuel prices at gas stations. This shows a quick evaluation of the prices at about 400 gas stations in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg in the period between 6:00 and 7:00 o'clock by the German press agency with the help of the fuel price data of the ADAC on Wednesday. While not all gas stations lowered their prices sharply, the vast majority saw a clear difference just a few hours after the tax cut.

Thus on Wednesday at approximately 350 of the examined gas stations the liter cost super E10 less than 1,90 euro. In the same period on Tuesday there had been in the examined range only one gas station, which offered E10 for less than 2 euro. With the majority the price lay at that time between 2,10 and 2,30 euro. The theoretical price difference for premium gasoline due to the tax relief would be 35 cents per liter. In view of the available data, this is roughly within the range of the reductions. However, it is still too early for a more precise assessment.

Also with Diesel a clear trend resulted toward falling prices. Had it the fuel still on Tuesday morning only in rare cases for less than 2 euro given, made these prices on Wednesday already the majority. More than 2,10 euro were hardly required against it. That had been so on Tuesday still nearly in the half of all cases. With Diesel the relief is clearly lower by the tax cut with scarcely 17 cent per liter.

Competitive pressure contributes to price reductions

The fuel tax cut comes according to the assessment of the Federal Association of independent gas stations with the customers. "At first glance, the measure seems to have been largely passed on," the association's managing director, Stephan Zieger, told German Press Agency on Wednesday morning. The challenge, he said, is to get the lower-taxed fuel from refineries and storage facilities to service stations quickly in sufficient quantities. The filling level of the tanks at the gas stations was initially only 20 to 30 percent in some cases. This is because full tanks with the old tax burden are not bearable from a commercial point of view, the association's managing director explained.

It had previously been expected that fuel prices would not fall abruptly on Wednesday. The reason for this is that the reduced tax does not apply to sales at the pump but from the tank farm or refinery. This means that all gas station supplies delivered before midnight are still subject to the normal higher tax rate. The fact that the majority of petrol stations have already reduced their prices significantly could be a result of the high level of public attention and the associated competitive pressure.

For the analysis, prices at around 400 service stations in and around Munich, Berlin and Hamburg were accessed and compared on the ADAC website on Tuesday and Wednesday between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. respectively.

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians