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German fuel demand drops ahead of tax cut

  • Märkte: Oil products
  • 04.05.26

Demand for diesel and gasoline in Germany fell sharply in the week ending 1 May as the temporary energy tax cut on fuels takes effect on 1 May, traded spot volumes reported to Argus show.

The German government will reduce the energy tax on diesel, gasoline and similarly taxed products such as hydrotreated vegetable oil by €14.04/100 l for two months. Including VAT, this is equivalent to a tax relief of around 17¢/l for consumers at the pump. Consumers limited purchases to essential volumes in April on expectations of the tax change, while filling stations deliberately kept inventories low at the turn of the month. As a result, traded spot volumes for diesel and gasoline reported to Argus declined week-on-week over the course of April.

The muted demand especially challenged suppliers with term contracts. The suppliers kept lowering April diesel prices to raise contracted volumes by the end of the month and avoid penalties. This led to unusually wide spreads between low and high price assessments in the week ending 1 May.

Oversupply was strongest in Germany's southwest at the 310,000 b/d Miro, where April diesel prices for prompt loadings at times fully diverged from the developments in Ice gasoil futures. Diesel offers on 30 April for same-day collection at the regular tax rate were nearly on par with May-delivery product already priced with the reduced tax rate.

Market participants expect diesel demand to rise sharply at the start of May, as consumers such as farmers and filling stations refill empty tanks. One major supplier urged customers to lift contract volumes below the contractual limits in the first week of May to prevent potential shortages.

But traders doubt consumers will feel the full tax relief immediately. Persistent volatility in Ice gasoil futures, driven by developments in the Iran war, may offset the effect on prices. And the benefit will likely be smaller in regions where heavy supply pressure kept end-April prices already low.


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