Monday, 4th May 2026

Reuters

Oil companies must ​pass on the benefits of Germany’s fuel price discount to consumers, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told Reuters ‌on Friday, as his government seeks to cushion the effects of the energy price shock caused by the Iran war. The government has temporarily cut Germany’s energy tax on diesel and petrol by about 0.17 euros per litre, relief worth around 1.6 billion euros ($1.88 billion) as part of a package of measures to mitigate ​the fallout from soaring global prices. The unprecedented energy price disruption is impacting many economies including Germany, Europe’s largest, which was ​already struggling to regain momentum after the pandemic as high costs and competition from China strain its export-driven ⁠model. The stakes are high for Klingbeil. His Social Democratic Party took a drubbing in March state elections and, along with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ​conservatives, faces a big challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany, which is surging in the polls. The energy tax cut took effect on Friday ​and will remain in place for May and June. “We in politics will be watching this closely, but these reductions must be passed on,” said Klingbeil, who is also pushing for a windfall tax on energy profits. The German Federal Cartel Office ​on Friday said the fuel price discount appeared to have been largely passed on to consumers, though it also said some petrol ​stations had actually raised prices. “An astonishing development at noon today: Some petrol stations have increased their prices significantly, while others have not, or hardly at ‌all,” ⁠said Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office. “The tax cut is intended to provide relief to consumers and the economy during a difficult period. The oil companies are, at best, custodians of this relief; it is not intended for them. It must reach the customers,” he said.