Diesel 16 cents upNew record for the midday jump at the gas pumps

April 24, 2026 around 18:51 Clock

After a two-week decline, fuel prices are now rising significantly again – and that's a week before the fuel discount comes into effect. At midday – shortly after the Bundestag decided on the fuel discount from May 1st – prices shot up more sharply than at any time since the introduction of the 12 o'clock rule. The ADAC determined an increase of 14.1 cents for E10 premium gasoline and 16.3 cents for diesel. The day before, the midday jump had been stronger than ever before.

At its peak, ntv.de data showed a price of almost 2.29 euros per liter of diesel at midday. Gasoline of the E 5 variety rose to almost 2.25 euros. The price for the E 10 variety was 2.19 euros.

Both before and after the midday jump, prices were clearly higher than at the same time the previous day. This indicates a further increase in the daily average. Prices had already risen on Thursday: Super E10 had become more expensive on a national daily average by 1.1 cents to 2.074 euros per liter, diesel by 2.3 cents to 2.150 euros per liter.

The ADAC welcomed this, but called it “questionable” that the discount would have a “direct and full impact” on fuel prices. He expects that prices will gradually fall by the tax relief amount. However, the ADAC considers supply bottlenecks around May 1st to be “unlikely”.

After Easter, fuel prices tended to fall for around two weeks and were well away from their highs. Now it's going in the other direction. The oil price is likely to play a role here, with the Brent variety, which is important for Europe, now back above $100 per barrel (159 liters). The background is the lack of movement in the dispute between the USA and Israel and Iran.

However, there was a brief signal of hope in the afternoon: According to reports, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was on his way to Pakistan. However, there was no talk of a conversation with the US side.

Sources used: jwu/dpa/AFP