Ifo: Fuel tax cut almost fully passed on for petrol, diesel drivers miss about 3 cents
Germany's cut of almost 17 cents per litre is now fully passed on for Super E5 but only about 14 cents for diesel, the Ifo institute says. The DIW institute arrives at lower figures.
Symbolic image · Photo: Roy Zuo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Germany's fuel tax cut, in force since October 1, is now largely reaching motorists, but only partially for diesel, according to an analysis by the Munich-based Ifo institute. The government introduced the relief of almost 17 cents per litre in response to oil prices that surged during the Iran war; it runs until the end of the year. Record pump prices had pushed inflation to 3.3% in September.
In the week of October 14-20, the rebate was passed on practically in full for Super E5 and by 16 cents for E10, Ifo said. "Here, only around 14 of the 17 cents were passed on to motorists," Ifo economist Florian Neumeier said of diesel. For the whole period since October 1, the institute calculates 16 cents for E5 and 14 cents each for E10 and diesel. Prices were compared with France, which has no rebate.
Using a similar method, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) estimates pass-through at only about two-thirds for October 1-21. According to motoring club ADAC, E10 cost an average 2.088 euros per litre nationwide on Wednesday, 5.8 cents less than a week earlier. Diesel stood at 2.246 euros, only 0.9 cents below the previous week.