Paris (France) (AFP) – Diesel prices at pumps across the European Union have hit a new high of 2.23 euros per litre, up from 2.16 euros the previous week, an AFP analysis of European Commission data published Thursday showed. The fresh peak — equivalent to $9.63 per US gallon — comes as the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have choked off crude supplies and damaged refineries, causing energy prices to surge worldwide.
Nineteen EU countries including Germany, France and Italy have registered record average prices, according to weekly data going back to 2005. Among the countries setting new records, Denmark and Finland have reported the highest prices, at 2.56 euros per litre of diesel, followed by Germany at 2.46 euros. Prices in Belgium and France are both close to 2.40 euros and are nearly 2.30 euros in Italy. These costs include taxes, such as VAT and excise duties, which vary by country and account, on average, for 40 percent of the pump price across the bloc. They do not factor in targeted subsidies, such as the relief provided to high-mileage drivers in France.
Greece, Estonia and Slovakia hit their previous highs in 2022, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany, France, Poland and four other countries set their previous records in March or April 2026, as Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes on its territory. Nine of the 19 countries broke recent records set in August or September 2026. In addition to Hormuz, prices have been driven up by other global supply disruptions, such as the Houthi blockade of Saudi exports in the Red Sea and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
– Up 40 percent since February –
Spain and Sweden have also seen price increases but remain below the peaks reached in 2022 in the wake of Russia’s Ukraine invasion. Since late February, these countries have significantly cut excise duties on diesel, according to the Bruegel think tank. Other European governments have adopted fiscal measures similar to those implemented during the 2022 energy crisis, notably by temporarily cutting certain fuel taxes. However, the amounts involved remain “significantly lower” at this stage than in 2022, Alexander Roth, a researcher at Bruegel, told AFP.
The current energy shock has so far been “not as strong” and “more gradual” than in 2022, while some governments have more limited budgetary capacity, he added. The data, drawn from the European Commission’s weekly oil bulletin, is submitted by national authorities and generally reflects the prices displayed at service stations at the start of the week or the end of the preceding week. The aggregate average for the 27-member bloc is weighted according to each member state’s fuel consumption in 2024. This average has risen by approximately 40 percent since late February. Over the same period, the price of diesel in the United States surged by more than 70 percent to around $6.50 per gallon (around €1.50 per litre).
© 2024 AFP
