Intraday fuel price swings in Germany have reached record levels since a rule limiting petrol stations to a single daily price increase took effect on April 1, according to the ADAC motoring association.
Germany introduced the noon pricing rule on the Austrian model after fuel prices surged in March due to the Iran war. Despite the measure, overall fuel prices have continued to rise, the ADAC said on Thursday.
The difference between the highest and lowest price during an average day reached €0.146 ($0.169) per litre for Super E10 petrol and €0.184 cents for diesel, the organization said after analysing prices at more than 14,000 petrol stations.
The previous records observed by ADAC were €0.125 for Super E10 in May 2025 and €0.167 for diesel in May 2022.
The motoring group said the cheapest time to refuel is now shortly before noon, just ahead of the typically sharp price increase at 12 pm (1000 GMT). Motorists filling a 50-litre tank at the lowest point of the day could save an average of €7.30 on Super E10 and €9.20 on diesel.
The organization said the large intraday price swings suggested oil companies had responded to the rule by adding risk premiums, arguing that the sharp increases around midday could not be explained by higher oil prices alone.
The government later introduced a two-month fuel rebate averaging around €0.17 per litre from May 1 in an effort to curb rising fuel costs.
