Why is diesel currently more expensive than gasoline?
It used to be quite clear: If you want to be on the road cheaply, you fill up with diesel! For years, this fuel was the cheap alternative to gasoline. But now the situation has changed and gasoline is cheaper than diesel in Germany. Why and how did that happen?
In the following, we will show you why diesel has now surpassed gasoline in price:
1. Taxation during the German fuel discount (June to the end of August)
The German energy tax (gasoline 65.45 cents / diesel 47.04 cents) fell by almost 30 cents for gasoline, but only 14 cents for diesel. Since gasoline is generally taxed at a higher rate than diesel, there is more room for such discounts.
2. Heating Oil Demand
Due to the energy crisis, many homeowners have filled their tanks earlier this year and apparently with larger quantities than before. Likewise, the industry is trying to use oil instead of gas for heat production. Consequently, if the demand for heating oil increases, more heating oil and less diesel is produced – using almost the same technological process. Thus, the price of diesel rises automatically, as so-called scarcity prices are called.
Will diesel remain more expensive than gasoline in the future?
In general, it can be said that due to the Ukraine war, energy supply and likewise gasoline prices in Germany will most likely remain more expensive in the long term. In addition, the current government wants to abolish the lower taxation of diesel fuel to reduce environmentally and climate-damaging subsidies and expenditures.
