FRANKFURT, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Germany's largest auto club warned on Wednesday that fuel prices are rising sharply on a weekly basis and hovering at levels that are too high.
On average, Super E10 gasoline costs 2.16 euros (2.52 U.S. dollars) per liter, 3.7 cents higher than a week earlier, while the price of diesel went up by 5.3 cents to 2.25 euros (2.62 U.S. dollars) per liter, according to figures released on Wednesday by the German Automobile Club (ADAC).
Christian Laberer, a fuel market expert at ADAC, identified the Rhine as an important domestic factor, as low water levels are disrupting fuel logistics in western Germany.
On Friday, the water level of the Rhine at Kaub, a key reference point for shipping in Germany, fell below 10 centimeters, reaching a historic low. As a result, fuel prices are particularly high in Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Hesse, three German states along the Rhine River. According to Laberer, this alone is adding a few cents to the nationwide average fuel price.
Beyond global crude oil market trends and geopolitical tensions that are pushing up fuel prices, the disproportionate markup applied by oil companies is also driving up fuel prices in Germany, reported the German newspaper Die Welt on Wednesday.
According to Johannes Schwanitz, a professor at the Muenster University of Applied Sciences in Germany, oil companies are taking advantage of current market conditions to significantly expand their profit margins.
His analysis revealed that, particularly since the end of Germany's temporary fuel discount on June 30, retail fuel prices have sharply detached from crude oil costs, with the industry applying much higher markups than usual to generate substantial extra profits.
The outlook for fuel prices remains bleak for the coming weeks. Market analysts do not expect to see noticeable price drops until the geopolitical situation stabilizes and river water levels return to a point that allows for normal inland shipping operations.
