Petrol prices in the dive? Why the decreases come at a snail's pace!

Petrol prices in the dive? Why the decreases come at a snail's pace!

The gasoline prices in Germany show striking behavior: While they are quickly adjusted when rising oil prices are increasing, consumers have to laboriously expect falling prices. This so-called "rocket-and-spring effect" ensures that the price increases at the petrol pump are passed on faster than the price cuts. This emerges from a current investigation by the Federal Cartel Office, which was published on July 2, 2025. Cartel office president Andreas Mundt confirmed that this delayed perception of price changes is a central problem. The investigation was influenced by political factors such as the tariffs of ex-President Trump and the persistent crisis in the Middle East, which let the crude oil prices fluctuate and thus also influence the price formation at the petrol stations.

It is striking that companies tend to quickly pass on higher purchase prices to customers, while they act more reserved at falling prices. Financial economist Sergio Rebelo comments that significant price changes can often encourage customers to change a brand. This could explain why companies avoid the risk of drastically reducing prices or quickly communicating them in order not to irritate customers. Such practices often lead to phenomena such as "shrink flation".

petrol price changes and market transparency

In the past few months, data show that gasoline prices at German petrol stations are changed on average 22 times a day. This number represents a significant increase compared to the 4-5 price changes per day before the introduction of market transparency. The latter has been operated by the Federal Cartel Office for over eleven years to improve price transparency. Despite these efforts, it is often difficult for consumers to find the cheapest prices, since petrol station prices frequently fluctuate and consumers can deviate from the actual prices at the petrol pumps.

The Department of Consumer Protection is intensively discussing how this dynamic affects consumers. The tank apps such as Clever-tanken.de and the DRIVE app of the ADAC were identified as helpful tools to find the best prices. However, there were always complaints about discrepancies between the app prices and the actual prices at the petrol stations. The likelihood that a petrol station, which is favorable at a certain point in time, remains in the investigation was quantified in the study: after that, a petrol station, which is identified as a cheap petrol station, remains the cheapest in 79 % after 15 minutes, in 72 % after 30 minutes and in 66 % after 8 hours.

inflation on motorways

Another aspect is the price situation at motorway petrol stations, which are on average 40 cents more expensive than prices outside. This discrepancy has often led to frustrations among drivers who are faced with higher tank costs on longer trips.

The Federal Cartel Office takes measures to check the practices of the oil companies and has already initiated an official investigation of market behavior. The aim is to raise the price formation to a transparent level and to counteract the "rocket-and-spring effect". In summary, the development of gasoline prices remains a topic of growing interest and a challenge for consumers.