Germany news: Call to scrap once-a-day gas price rises

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• A rule allowing gas stations to raise prices only at noon has not achieved its objective of lowering them, motoring association ADAC says
• The number of entry-level jobs has dropped by two-thirds since 2022, an online job exchange says
• Traces of explosives have been found near a German military base close to where drone parts were discovered last week, security sources say  

Here is a roundup of headline stories from and about Germany on Wednesday, September 23, 2026:

Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click hereClick here to add DW as a Preferred Source on Google.

Skip next section ADAC calls to drop once-a-day price rise rule for fuel

September 23, 2026

ADAC calls to drop once-a-day price rise rule for fuel

The ADAC motoring association has said that a rule in force since April 1 allowing gas stations to raise fuel prices only once a day, at noon, has not brought down prices and "should therefore be abolished."

Although the rule had greatly reduced the number of price changes throughout a day and made increases easier to predict, the gap between the highest and lowest prices had increased, the ADAC said.

It also said motorists who needed to buy gas shortly after noon, when gas stations have typically jacked up prices, were faced with unjustifiably higher costs.

An economic research institute, ZEW, also found in April that prices were higher on average after the rule was introduced, with fuel prices generally going up after noon and cheaper in the morning.

Fuel prices in Germany and Europe in general have skyrocketed amid the war in the Middle East.

The ADAC reported that average gas prices in Germany hit a record high on Thursday, reaching €2.308 for a liter of super E10 and €2.471 for a liter of diesel ($9.98/US gallon and $10.69/US gallon, respectively)

In its statement, the ADAC, however, welcomed the government's temporary reduction in the energy tax that is planned to go into force on October 1, saying it was the most realistic way to lower the burden on motorists.

Is Europe prepared for its next major energy shock?

Editing:Sean Sinico

https://p.dw.com/p/5N5Ej

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

September 23, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

The DW newsroom on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn wishes all users of Germany's international broadcaster guten Tag!

The high gas prices largely caused by fallout from the Iran war continue to be a major topic in Germany, with the country's main motoring association, the ADAC, now saying one government measure introduced in April in a bid to reduce the burden on motorists has failed.

And a lifesaving association has sad news after the unusually warm summer, with more drowning deaths from May to mid-September in Germany than in the same period last year.