Rising Prices for Gasoline, Heating Oil, Gas - How Expensive Will Winter Be?

The prices of fuel, heating oil and natural gas have risen sharply within a short period of time. This makes everyday life more expensive and also burdens companies with extra costs. What are the consequences? By Lisa Wurscher and Julia Lamour, BR About 400 euros a month, the commuter Daria Schulz spends now for the refueling. She can hardly afford the 130 kilometers to the office. “This is of course an item of expenditure that I don’t just put away,” says Schulz. The price of super gasoline has risen by about 30 percent within a year, the diesel price by about 45 percent. In the EU comparison, the fuel price in Germany remains high despite the tank discount, mainly because of taxes and duties. Even the release of strategic reserves can only relieve motorists temporarily. Even the entrepreneur Daniel Beständig from the vicinity of Schweinfurt does not know how he should still meet the energy costs. He operates an international forwarding company with 22 vehicles. Compared to 2020, he has according to his own information one million euros additional costs per year only for fuel. With the fuel and energy prices, medium-sized companies like him have to fight right now, says Beständig. Every month is a miracle bag, what awaits us at the gas station. The Federal Association of Logistics & Transport warns of a collapse of the industry. Liquidity falls, investments are postponed and fleets are reduced. High fuel costs increase food prices Steadily transports mostly food. For fixed orders, he can pass on the fuel costs to the customer. They in turn pass them on to their customers - the consumers. This is a spiral, says Beständig. “In the end – we see this in supermarkets, especially in the food sector – we have already gone up significantly with prices compared to recent years,” says the entrepreneur. In September alone, energy prices increased by 14.9 percent compared to the same month last year. This has led to the inflation rate now being 3.3 percent. From January, a fuel price cap is planned, i.e. a state-set maximum price. Economists warn of unwanted consequences. “If I decide a price in an otherwise free market, I have two effects,” explains Andrej Putisek from the Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart. “Increasing demand and decreasing supply.” With fuel price cap, I fear that there will be a shortage. Fuel oil shock: full tanks, empty accounts The price of heating oil has increased by around 80 percent within a year. At fuel dealer Dieter Dlask from Bergkirchen, orders fell drastically due to the price explosion: We have drops in sales of up to 60 percent. And our margins, unlike those of the oil companies, are consistent and very thin. 3,000 liters of heating oil currently cost around 5,000 euros. Many households have not yet filled up their tanks due to the high prices shortly before the winter - or deliberately order smaller quantities than before. If the heating season starts and the release of strategic reserves should lead to a short-term price reduction, it can be tight on orders, warns Dlask: "It can accumulate, if it gets cold and then people come all at once, then there will be waiting times." The wholesale price of gas has risen by almost 128 percent within a year. The business of the Hamburg chemical plant HOBUM Oleochemicals is going well, but the machines need gas. Managing Director Arnold Mergell has secured the family business with long-term supply contracts. By 2029, he is buying gas at a significantly cheaper price. But the entrepreneur worries: The filling level of the German gas storage facilities is as low as ever for the beginning of October. The fear: Germany could run out of gas this winter. If Mergell had to switch from gas to heating oil, that would be expensive for him. Because then he would have to buy heating oil at the current market price. “German industrial companies will have a competitive disadvantage, at least in the prices expected in winter,” Mergell criticizes. Consumer prices increased by around 40 percent within a year. Should gas become a scarce commodity, Germany threatens an expensive winter.