Rising energy prices: Bigger price increases for oil and gas than during the oil crises

In March of this year, fuel prices in Germany rose far more sharply than in previous crises over the past 50 years.

Consumers had to pay an average of 41.9 percent more for premium petrol and 62.6 percent more for diesel fuel than a year earlier, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday.

Light heating oil was even two and a half times as expensive (144 percent) as in March 2021. Import prices for natural gas were three and a half times as high as in the same month last year.

The reason was the effects of the Corona crisis and the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Developments of this kind have so far only occurred in connection with the two oil crises of 1974 and 1980 and the financial market and economic crisis of 2008/2009.

However, an analysis by the Federal Statistical Office has shown that the year-on-year increase in fuel prices was not higher in any of these crises than in March 2022. The study examined the development of prices for crude oil and mineral oil products as well as natural gas over the past 50 years.

In the earlier crises, gas prices rose with a time lag and in different ways for the various user groups.

The rise in import prices by 256.5 percent in February catapulted the gas price to an unprecedented level. The Federal Office did not quantify the effects on consumer prices.

First oil crisis 1973/1974

Also in 1973/1974 there were strong price increases for crude oil and mineral oil products.

The Yom Kippur War began in October 1973 and is considered to have triggered the first oil crisis.

In order to put pressure on western countries, the OPEC countries had throttled their output.

As a result, in March 1974 imported oil was more than three times as expensive as a year earlier (up 221.1 percent on March 1973).

For private consumers, the rise in fuel prices also peaked in February 1974, with an increase of 32.5 percent over the same month of the previous year.

For light heating oil, private sector prices rose 183.3 percent in December 1973.

Natural gas prices followed many years after a time lag.

The prices for imported natural gas did not record their highest increase until May 1975 with a plus of 116.1 percent.

For private consumers, the highest increase in natural gas prices was in February 1975 with an increase of 15.8 percent.

Second oil crisis 1979/1980

The second oil crisis was mainly triggered by the production shortfalls associated with the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the First Gulf War that began in September 1980.

In July 1979, light heating oil cost private consumers 110.8 percent more than a year earlier.

Imported petroleum peaked at 101.4 percent, twice the price of the previous year.

They peaked in March 1985 before falling sharply again until the late 1980s.

Fuel prices reached an all-time high in September 1981 and were 27.7 percent more expensive than in the previous year.

Imported natural gas followed again with a delay and in September 1981 reached a plus of 62.7 percent.

Financial market and economic crisis 2008/2009

The financial market crisis began in August 2007 with the sharp increase in interbank financial loans in the USA.

The climax was reached with the collapse of the major American bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

The euro crisis followed in October 2009 with the correction of the data on Greece's net new debt.

In July 2008, imported oil was 56.8 percent more expensive than a year earlier.

Also in the summer of 2008, consumer prices for fuel (up 15.2 percent) and heating oil (up 61.8 percent) reached record highs.

After that, crude oil prices plummeted.

Within six months, the price of imported oil fell by 60.3 percent.

In January 2009, private consumers paid almost 25 percent less for fuel than in July 2008, and a good 40 percent less for light heating oil.

corona crisis

The development of energy prices during the pandemic ran counter to the development during the financial market crisis: after energy prices initially fell sharply, they then rose significantly.

After the import prices for oil in connection with the Corona crisis had fallen to their lowest level since August 1999 by April 2020 due to demand, they rose again from June 2020.

This was partly due to the rapid economic recovery.

In February 2022, they were a total of 70.3 percent above the previous year's level.

In February 2022, the price of imported natural gas rose by 256.5 percent compared to the same month last year, which represents a new high.