While the big rush to the pumps at the end of the summer vacations this year was without the usual price speculation, the Italian consumer association Codacons is nevertheless sounding the alarm. A long-term analysis of fuel prices shows a drastic burden for motorists. Compared to summer 2020, the price of a liter of diesel has risen by a whopping 27 %, while petrol has become 21.7 % more expensive.
Additional costs of over 17 euros per tank
These percentage increases have a significant impact on the wallet. According to Codacons' calculations, which are based on official data from the Ministry of the Environment, a full tank of petrol now costs over 15 euros more than it did five years ago. For a diesel vehicle, the additional cost is as much as 17.30 euros per tank. In view of the millions of car journeys during the current Return wave this adds up to a total financial burden of hundreds of millions of euros for Italian households. The average price for a liter of petrol is currently 1.701 euros, while diesel costs 1.631 euros.
Criticism of insufficient price reduction
Although prices have fallen slightly since the end of June, Codacons criticizes that this reduction is far from sufficient. The association highlights a clear discrepancy: while the price of crude oil on the global market has fallen by over 16 % since June, prices at Italian petrol pumps have only fallen by a meagre 2 % in the same period. "There is still plenty of scope for a further reduction in prices at filling stations," say the experts. The association recalls that prices rose at lightning speed after the outbreak of war in Iran. Such a sharp fall in the price of crude oil as we are seeing now should therefore have had a much greater and faster impact on consumer prices.
