Diesel at 2.469 euros in Catania, 'cartel' (and record prices) of gas stations in Palermo: who really profits?

Also tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10, at fuel stations motorists will find the price of diesel and gasoline further increased. In the last week, an average of +30/35 cents per liter has been recorded. Since the war between Israel and the United States against Iran began, the bar keeps rising. And Sicily records one of the worst performances at the national level. "But it's not our fault - Francesca Costa, national vice president of the Italian Federation of Gas Station Operators and president of Confesercenti Palermo, puts her hands up - people think we are getting rich, but in reality we are becoming poorer like everyone else. 

Those who manage a branded fuel station are subject to an exclusive supply contract, meaning they cannot choose from whom to buy fuel. On the other hand, they are obligated to display the prices indicated by the oil company. "Our profit margin is 4 cents per liter - Costa explains - so if a customer puts in 30 euros and the price rises as it has in recent days, our margin decreases because the liters dispensed drop. On the other hand, I need more liquidity to buy the same amount of product from my sole supplier."

A different story for independent stations, the so-called white pumps, which can purchase fuel from whomever they want and are not bound to oil companies even for the prices at the pump. Yet in many cases, in recent days, these stations have not recorded lower prices. On the contrary. The situation, however, even in Sicily, is patchy. The real pulse is reflected by the Price Observatory website of the Ministry of Enterprises, the only reliable platform because the owners of individual stations are obligated to report any price changes. 

From the site, it can be inferred, for example, that in Catania the price of diesel in service mode has reached peaks of 2.469 euros. And the gasoline at 2.247 euros. But there are still those who, in self-service mode, today March 9, have displayed more reasonable prices: the lowest are recorded in San Giovanni La Punta where a Sepa (formerly Sp energia siciliana) station has reported 1.619 euros per liter for self-service diesel and 1.669 for gasoline. But this appears to be a unique case. The second cheapest is in Tremestieri Etneo with self-service gasoline at 1.779 euros and diesel at 1.879 euros. More generally, there are very few places that still sell diesel - which has seen the highest increases - for less than 1.90 euros. 

In Palermo, the lowest prices are at the Eni station on Corso Calatafimi with gasoline at 1.749 euros per liter and diesel at 1.859 euros. Meanwhile, dozens of suppliers - the Observatory reveals - apply all the same very high prices: 2.099 euros for self-service diesel (which goes up to 2.499 for service) and 1.877 for gasoline (rising to 2.227 for service).

Costa points out what everyone has been repeating for days: «The increase upstream is unjustified because today fuel is being sold that was purchased a month ago». In reality, Unem, the acronym that unites and represents the main companies operating in Italy in the refining sector, emphasizes that fuel prices «consistently follow - both up and down - the trends of international refined product quotations».

Therefore, the starting price is not determined by how much the fuel that is currently being sold at the pump originally cost, but by what the reference exchanges are currently quoting for refined products (not oil, there is also a difference here). And again: «In the price of fuels - they add - the tax component prevails, largely non-compressible and completely independent, which tends to dilute the real benefit derived from the decrease in the industrial price. VAT is applied to the industrial price plus the excise duty, effectively becoming a “tax on the tax”». 

In the latest report by Unem on March 3, it was concluded that «Italian prices net of taxes are the lowest in Europe and not the highest. From the last EU survey (February 23), gasoline, net of taxes, was 3.3 euro cents per liter lower than the euro area average, while diesel was 6.3 cents lower. Despite this, at the consumer level (including taxes) it was higher by 3.5 and 8 cents respectively.»