In view of the extraordinarily high fuel prices, the Federal Cartel Office wants to examine the pricing and the behavior of the mineral oil companies more closely.

The focus is on refineries and wholesalers.

The reason for this is that although crude oil prices have fallen significantly again in recent weeks, this is only reflected in drivers' fuel bills with a considerable delay.

Helmut Buender

Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.

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Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said: “We are following these developments with great attention.

Crude oil prices, refinery selling prices and gas station prices have diverged significantly in recent weeks.”

The Bonn competition authority will now initiate an "ad hoc sector investigation with a clear focus on the refinery and wholesale level".

There had been a similar attempt ten years ago, but it had fizzled out at the time.

Inexpensive petrol stations remain a good choice

The cartel office is now also responding to the urging of politicians.

As early as mid-March, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) had asked for the pricing to be checked.

Sector inquiries are not aimed at a specific company or at a concrete suspicion that market power is being abused or even collusion is involved.

As a rule, however, the cartel office creates a data basis for further proceedings.

The aim is to shed light on the reasons for the latest market and price developments, it said on Tuesday.

Experience has shown that sector inquiries take a long time, often over several years.

The federal government also wants to give the office additional powers.

Among other things, the mineral oil companies should not only regularly report the current fuel prices at the filling stations to the "Market Transparency Office", but also the sales volumes.

The office hopes that this will enable it to better assess the competitive situation at the gas stations.

Little has changed in the usual price patterns at around 15,000 German gas stations.

As can be seen from the annual report of the market transparency office, which makes the price data available via apps and comparison portals, filling up in the morning between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. is particularly expensive, while prices are usually lowest in the evening between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

"Over the course of a day, there are price differences of around twenty cents per liter in a city or region," said Mundt.

At one and the same gas station, price differences of eight to thirteen cents per liter are typical over the course of the day.

Savings can also be made without regular price comparisons, because once found, comparatively cheap gas stations will usually remain a good choice in the future.

According to the Cartel Office, fuel usually costs around 25 cents more at motorway filling stations than at street filling stations.

Autohöfe close to the highway would typically take 2 to 3 cents more than street stations.