Record diesel costs continue to hit German drivers

Fuel prices at select stations in major urban centers and along motorways have significantly outpaced the national average.

Two days after a new law came into force seeking to slow the rise of petrol and diesel prices for motorists, the evidence seems to point to the legislation making the situation worse, not better News.Az reports citing dw.com

Germany's ADAC motorists' club on Thursday reported that diesel prices per liter hit an all-time high on April 1, as the law was introduced. 

The all-day average for diesel hit €2.327 per liter nationwide. That equates to $8.80 per US gallon. 

The cheapest Super E10 gasoline variant was also at a two-year high, at €2.129 per liter or $8.60 per US gallon. 

The new law, borrowing an idea first devised by the Austrian government, does not limit the prices filling stations can charge, or tie the prices to market oil prices. Instead, it limits fuel stations to one price increase per day.

But the ADAC said it believed that, at least amid the introduction of the new rule, this limitation might have proven counterproductive, prompting companies to err on the high side with their sole permitted price hike. 

"Given the backdrop of the crude oil price falling between March 31 and April 1, ADAC considers [April 1's] price increases to be unreasonable," the organization said. "The ADAC's fear that the oil companies would use the once-per-day price rise limitation to impose a risk premium seems to be confirmed." 

The organization said it believed "it is now the task of the Federal Cartel Office to move the oil companies towards moderation." 

News.Az