German 12‑Hour Fuel Price Rule Cuts Daily Price Changes by Two‑Thirds

The German government’s new 12‑hour rule for fuel pricing has reduced the number of price adjustments at petrol stations to about six or seven per day, down from the previous 20‑22 changes. An answer to a parliamentary inquiry reported that violations of the rule are rare, with fewer than 3 % of all price movements breaching the timetable, most of which occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Penalties for non‑compliance can reach €100,000.

Media monitoring, however, has highlighted a larger number of illegal price hikes. The magazine Auto Motor und Sport documented roughly 234,000 unlawful increases in April alone, the majority of which happened between 11:50 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. The government has not yet quantified any overall effect of the rule on fuel prices themselves.