Fuel excise effect, diesel outstrips petrol
The entry into force on 1 January of the rules contained in the manoeuvre (with the increase in taxation on diesel and the equivalent reduction in taxation on petrol) has made diesel more expensive than green
Excise duty effect on fuel prices. The entry into force on 1 January of the norms contained in the manoeuvre (with the increase in taxation on diesel and the equivalent reduction of those on petrol) has made diesel more expensive than green. This is, Staffetta Quotidiana reports, the first time in three years. The national average price of diesel is this morning 1.666 euro per litre against 1.650 euro for petrol. A reversal that has not occurred since 9 February 2023, when the most acute phase of the price crisis that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine came to an end. With the excise tax cut, the price of petrol falls to its lowest level since 19 December 2022.
On fuel prices, notes Staffetta Quotidiana, a new increase in the cost of blending biofuels, linked to the rise in the mandatory quota, has also been reflected since 1 January: according to Staffetta, the cost of blending has risen by between 1.5 and 2 cents per litre. The increase was offset by falling international prices for refined products, which fell between the end of 2025 and the beginning of the new year by precisely 1.5 to 2 cents per litre, but without this translating into falling prices at the pump.
The alignment of excise duties between petrol and diesel - reduced by 4.05 euro cents per litre for the former and increased by the same amount for the latter, bringing them to 67.26 euro cents - was adopted because the lower rate enjoyed by diesel was considered an 'environmentally harmful subsidy'.
On diesel, Italy now has the highest excise duty in Europe; on petrol it slips from third to eighth place, behind France and Ireland and above Germany. These are the averages of the prices practiced communicated by the operators to the Price Observatory of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy and processed by Staffetta: self-service petrol is at 1.650 euro per litre, self-service diesel at 1.666 euro per litre. Served petrol is at €1.798 per litre, diesel at €1.803 per litre.
