The German competition authority published a special edition of its Fuel News report, prepared by the Fuel Market Transparency Unit, on fuel-price developments in October. Average prices were €2.171 per litre for E5 petrol, €2.115 for E10 petrol and €2.261 for diesel.

Prices for petrol and diesel moved in opposite directions during the month: diesel rose by 1.6 cents per litre from the beginning to the end of October, while petrol fell by 4.5 cents. The authority attributed the divergence partly to weak petrol demand and overproduction, and partly to continued tightness in diesel markets, including supply constraints linked to the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Regional price differences at filling stations remained substantial, reaching up to 14.1 cents per litre for E5 and 9.5 cents for diesel. Prices were higher in western Germany than in the south and southwest, particularly for petrol. Low water levels on the Rhine have disrupted inland shipping and increased transport costs to the west. At the same time, less attractive transport economics have left more fuel near refineries, reducing the quantities sent west and potentially lowering prices in those regions.

The energy tax reduction of 16.71 cents per litre, including tax, which took effect at the start of October, had not been fully passed on to consumers, according to the authority. Its current estimates put the average pass-through at around 90% for diesel and 60% for petrol. The authority stressed that these figures should be treated as indicative because multiple, sometimes opposing, price factors are at work and other published studies have reached substantially different estimates.

Competition authority president Andreas Mundt said the authority would carefully assess developments relevant to its proceedings and continue monitoring the market. The report also points readers to the authority’s latest quarterly report on the fuel market and its 2025/26 annual report chapter on the mineral oil industry.