Europe’s Diesel Costs Rise €203 Million a Day as Supplies Tighten
Higher fuel prices are adding €270 million a day to EU road-transport costs as Middle East disruptions and refinery outages squeeze supplies.
Higher diesel prices are adding an estimated €203 million per day to European Union road-transport costs, raising pressure on drivers, freight operators and consumer prices as refined-fuel supplies tighten.
Total additional road-transport fuel costs have reached €270 million per day. The figures are model estimates based on data through Sept. 14, rather than official EU government statistics.
Drivers are paying about €30 more to fill a 50-liter diesel tank, while a German truck faces an estimated €236 in additional weekly fuel costs. About 38% of passenger cars on EU roads run on diesel, and road transport accounts for 77% of EU diesel and gas-oil consumption.
Fuel prices listed for Sept. 21 included €2.62 per liter for gasoline in Denmark, €2.45 in the Netherlands and €2.36 in Finland. The prices include taxes and duties.
The increase follows supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict and Russian refinery outages. European natural-gas inventories were at their lowest seasonal level in more than 15 years as of Sept. 16, while diesel stocks had fallen sharply in some regions.
Germany plans to reduce fuel taxes by 17 cents per liter, including value-added tax, through the end of 2026. The €2.5 billion package is scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, and the government plans talks with the oil industry on a fuel-price cap targeted for Jan. 1, 2027.
The EU met 57% of its energy needs through net imports in 2024. Imports supplied 96.6% of the bloc’s oil and petroleum products and 85% of its natural gas.
“Europe cannot remain an industrial powerhouse if its energy prices are structurally too high,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sept. 16. She said imported fossil fuels had cost Europe an additional €90 billion since the start of the conflict without adding energy supply.
Von der Leyen said expanding renewable and nuclear power could reduce Europe’s fossil-fuel import bill by €260 billion annually by 2040. “It’s a cruel irony that the US is the least vulnerable to a crisis of its own making, while Europe’s economy again takes the hit,” said Antony Froggatt, a senior director.
Germany’s tax reduction is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, followed by planned industry talks on the proposed price cap.
