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Despite falling oil prices, petrol remains extremely expensive. Various actors are now under criticism.
Many see the reason for the record prices at the gas station as the war in Ukraine and the associated increase in crude oil prices. The logical conclusion would be that if the price of crude oil falls, so will the price of gasoline. Crude oil prices have been falling for a few days without petrol getting cheaper by the same amount. This causes criticism.
In Germany, the Federal Cartel Office has even initiated investigations into the massive rise in petrol prices. “If crude oil prices are now falling again and gas station prices don’t follow suit or even continue to rise, you have to take a close look at it.” According to Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, this applies to the crude oil market, refineries and wholesalers right up to the gas station operators.
Last week alone, the price of oil fell 30 percent. I expect that the gas stations will pass the reduction on to consumers.
Criticism is also pouring down in Switzerland. The SRF community was dissatisfied with the current situation in the comment columns. In the SRF Rundschau Talk, Simonetta Sommaruga demanded: “Last week alone, the price of oil fell by 30 percent. I expect that the gas stations will pass the reduction on to consumers.”
In fact, a discrepancy between oil and petrol prices has recently been observed, for example on comparison portals such as benzin-preis.ch. However, it should also be noted that the local gas stations reacted relatively late to the increase in oil prices.
Ueli Bamert, head of politics at the Swiss Association of Fuel Importers, Avenergy, sees the filling stations as not responsible for the currently high prices. They had no choice but to pass on the high world market prices for crude oil to customers. In addition, petrol station operators have no interest in charging unnecessarily high prices. The competitive pressure in Switzerland is too great for that. In other words, if you charge too much for gas, you lose customers.
Refineries as profiteers
The price of petrol also depends to a large extent on the refineries. There is only one in Switzerland, based in Cressier. However, most of the petrol sold in Switzerland comes from German refineries along the Rhine and from the Netherlands. These investments can currently generate higher profits because the supply has decreased. For many, Russian oil is no longer on the shopping list.
Legend:
The only refinery in Switzerland is in Cressier, in the canton of Neuchâtel.
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Nevertheless, the General German Automobile Club (ADAC) takes a critical view of the role of the refineries: “Despite all the war-related special effects and explanations for the high fuel prices – somewhere between oil production and the filling station, the additional driver’s money gets stuck. The mineral oil companies are currently making really good money in the refinery business.”
Refineries and gas stations are currently under special surveillance. The pressure to bring prices down to a lower level is increasing. The situation could soon calm down again for motorists.