Fuel prices still on the rise: heading for a new round of variable excise duties
Without further action, diesel prices are at an all-time high, whilst petrol is also at 2 euros per litre. The dossier is on the agenda at today’s Cabinet meeting
Key points
Tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting will also include an ‘assessment’ of fuel prices on its long list of agenda items, to determine whether further action is warranted.
New exam
The meeting had been announced last Monday by the Minister for the Economy, Giorgetti, following the Cabinet meeting that had reinstated the excise duty cuts, which had been suspended since 3 July and had only been reinstated for diesel.
The figures displayed on petrol station screens will come under scrutiny: they paint a picture that is slightly worse than the one that, eight days ago – following Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s urging – led the Council of Ministers to resume its cuts to fuel taxes.
Prices still on the rise
According to the Ministry of Enterprise’s daily monitoring, the average price of diesel yesterday was 2.08 euros per litre, which is 10.5 cents below the level reached when the Government decided on the 17-cent discount. Without further intervention, the reduced excise duty would expire next Thursday, and barring any sudden changes of course, diesel prices would reach an all-time high, 6–8 cents above the prices discussed last Monday at the Council of Ministers meeting. Petrol prices are also on the rise; at €1.995 recorded yesterday, they are now hovering around the psychological threshold of €2 per litre – the very level that prompted the government to reinstate the diesel discounts just a few days ago.
Next steps
In short, everything seems to be heading towards a new round of tax cuts. Except for the public finances, where the funds aren’t there. Or, rather, they aren’t there yet. In the coming hours, the extra VAT revenue for July will take shape; this was generated mainly in the second half of the month, which was characterised by rising prices. But as anyone familiar with these figures knows, variable excise duties do not work miracles. The aim is therefore to scrape together a sum similar to that which funded the last measure, which, at €125 million, covered 10 days of government-subsidised diesel. This would allow for the replication of a measure more or less similar to the one implemented last week, using only the VAT from the fuel price surge as per the original plan (Sole 24 Ore, 26 July). Unless political imperatives once again force a recalculation.
