Ukraine war pushes fuel prices above €2 per litre in Germany

The war in Ukraine has pushed fuel prices over the two euro mark for the first time in Germany.

The daily average price of petrol across Germany on Monday was 2.008 euro per litre, while the price of diesel was 2.032 euro, according to the German Automobile Association (ADAC) in Munich on Tuesday.

The main driver of the increase at the pump is oil prices, which have shot up in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Brent crude, which is important for Europe, had temporarily cost up to 139 dollars per barrel, which holds 159 litres, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought up the idea of an import ban on Russian oil.

The current strength of the dollar had reinforced this effect, as oil was traded in dollars and German buyers paid in euros.

In addition, the price of diesel was further driven by high demand for the relatively similar heating oil and importers were cutting back on imports of diesel from Russia.

The fact that such extreme fuel price records were currently being reached was also due to the fact that the effect of the war in Ukraine built on record levels already reached in previous months.

Increase remained enormous: in March 2021, diesel cost an average of 1.315 euro per litre, while petrol cost 1.454 euro per litre.