Andreas Mundt, the President of the German Federal Cartel Office, has expressed his support for the announcement made by Federal Minister of Economics, Katherina Reiche, regarding the regulation of fuel price changes at gas stations. He highlighted that the current situation, where gas stations can change prices up to 50 times a day, undermines market transparency and makes effective price comparison nearly impossible for consumers.

Mundt emphasized that limiting price changes to one per day would enhance transparency in the market. He also pointed out the ongoing geopolitical tensions and their impact on oil prices, noting that diesel prices have become decoupled from crude oil prices, while gasoline prices have not yet shown the same trend.

He raised concerns about the pricing practices in the industry, particularly when price reductions are not passed on to consumers as quickly as price increases. This discrepancy raises questions about the pricing mechanisms in place. The Federal Cartel Office is currently in discussions with oil companies and is also coordinating with European competition authorities to investigate potential price discrepancies across countries.