The conflict in the Middle East is also making itself felt at the petrol pump. In just a week, between 25 February and 5 March, the prices of petrol and diesel in the main Italian cities shot up in a worrying way, with increases that in some cases reached almost 6%.
These are not small physiological fluctuations but rather rapid and significant increases in prices, which are concretely weighing on the wallets of Italian motorists at a time when the ongoing conflict is keeping global energy markets in suspense.
To clarify what is happening is Altroconsumo, which analyzed the trend of self-service prices in the urban road networks of Milan, Rome, Naples and Turin.
The Hormuz blockade and the risk of speculation
There are two main factors behind the price surge. The first is structural: the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial hub through which millions of barrels of oil and large quantities of liquefied natural gas pass every day, has made the supply chain more difficult and expensive.
The second is more subtle: the fear of speculation. It is no coincidence that the Price Surveillance Guarantor has already convened the Rapid Alert Commission to monitor the trend of price lists. Whether it is a simple market response or something less transparent, the result for consumers is the same: filling up costs more and more.
The cities where the price increases are greatest
Looking at the four large cities analyzed by Altroconsumo on the basis of Quotidiano Energia data – self-service prices on the urban road network, therefore among the lowest available – a clear picture emerges.
For petrol, increases were between 3% and 4% in less than ten days. Milan recorded the most marked increase in prices (+4.1%), followed by Rome (+3.9%), Naples (+3.3%) and Turin (+3.1%). Percentages which, translated into practice, mean tens of euros more every month for those who use the car every day.
The situation is even worse for diesel. Diesel prices increased faster and to a greater extent than petrol, with Rome in the lead (+5.9%), followed by Milan (+5.5%), Naples (+5.2%) and Turin (+4.9%). An increase of almost six percentage points in less than a week is no small feat, especially for those who drive a diesel vehicle, still widespread among private cars and commercial vehicles in Italy.
The situation province by province
At a national level, as of March 5, the average price of petrol stood at 1.729 euros per litre, while that of diesel reached 1.823 euros per litre. But it is the geographical variations that best explain the complexity of the picture. In general, prices are rather homogeneous between the provinces and even within the same territories: it is not easy to find a distributor significantly cheaper than the local average. That said, differences exist.
For petrol, the most expensive provinces are Crotone (1,791 €/l), Nuoro (1,769 €/l) and Palermo (1,768 €/l). The cheapest are Teramo (1,701 €/l), Asti (1,703 €/l) and Cagliari (1,705 €/l). On the diesel front, the negative record still goes to Crotone (€1.882/l), followed by Bolzano (€1.875/l) and Trieste (€1.871/l). The most convenient are Catania (1,784 €/l), Teramo and Siracusa (both at 1,794 €/l).
It is worth underlining that, according to the Fuel Price Observatory of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, there are distributors where you can get up to €2.29/l for petrol and €2.39/l for diesel. For now, these are isolated cases, but their existence demonstrates how important it is to keep our guard up and how the risk of speculative episodes – especially in a moment of strong geopolitical instability – is anything but negligible.
What can be done
In this context, consumer associations are once again asking for concrete measures to contain the cost of fuel: first of all the elimination of VAT on fuel, a measure that would allow immediate and significant savings for families. In the meantime, for those who can, choosing self-service, avoiding the motorway and comparing prices before refueling remain the most effective strategies for limiting the damage.
