Effect of excise duties on fuel prices. The increase in taxation on diesel and the equivalent reduction in that on petrol envisaged by the budget and which came into force on January 1st has made diesel more expensive than green fuel. An overtaking that overturns the traditional combination in distribution systems and which has not been seen for three years now. In fact, the national average price of diesel now stands at 1,666 euros per liter against 1,650 euros for petrol, which has fallen to the lowest level since 2021, according to the Ministry of Business. However, the inversion has not occurred since 9 February 2023, at the end of the most acute phase of the price crisis that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mimit claims the attention paid in recent days to avoid market distortions and speculation on price lists, ensuring continuous monitoring. However, not all Regions are the same. As the National Consumers Union points out, in some areas of Italy, such as Lazio, diesel continues to cost more.
The price differences are significant
The price differences are also significant: Bolzano beats everyone with diesel at 1,730 euros per litre, Trento in second place (1,701 euros), followed by Valle d’Aosta (1,698 euros). On the contrary, Campania, where a liter of diesel costs 1,644 euros, then the Marche (1,654 euros) and Lombardy (1,656 euros). The alignment of excise duties provides for a reduction of 4.05 euro cents per liter for petrol and an increase of the same amount for diesel. On both fuels the value is therefore identical today and equal to 67.26 euro cents. The intervention, foreseen by the Pnrr and which according to the initial forecasts was to be spread over 5 years, has undergone a clear acceleration to fall within the coverage of the budget law. In fact, the expected revenue this year is close to 600 million euros.
At the base there is the intention to reduce the SAD, the environmentally harmful subsidies, which saw diesel fuel as fiscally privileged despite the greater environmental impact of diesel engines. Italy now has the highest excise duty on diesel fuel in Europe. On petrol, however, the country slips from third to eighth place, behind France and Ireland and above Germany. As Staffetta Quotidiana points out, fuel prices have also been affected by a new increase in the cost of blending biofuels since January 1st, linked to the increase in the mandatory quota: according to Staffetta, the cost of blending has increased between 1.5 and 2 cents per litre. The increase was offset by the decline in international prices of refined products, which fell by 1.5-2 cents per liter between the end of 2025 and the beginning of the new year, without this translating into a drop in prices at the pump.