Filling up with petrol in the Netherlands was not as cheap this year as it is now. “That has to do with market forces, with the dollar exchange rate and supply and demand,” responds Ewout Klok. He is a gas station owner in Hoogeveen and a board member at the Interest Associations for petrol stations. “But it mainly has to do with a VAT reduction of 17 cents on petrol.”
The national suggested retail price is currently 2.08 euros. That is the lowest since the beginning of this year. It is remarkable, says Klok: diesel is now more expensive than petrol. “I’ve never experienced that.” The recommended retail price for diesel is 2.10 euros. According to Klok, the reason that diesel is more expensive is due to the high gas prices.
“The demand for gas is high,” he explains. “So the price is high.” And that’s why people are looking for replacements. “That replacement is often diesel oil.” More demand for diesel oil, in turn, means that the price of diesel oil will rise.
The gas station owner from Hoogeveen says that this low petrol price can also be different. “All it takes is something to happen in the war in Ukraine or prices will skyrocket again.”
This has happened regularly over the past six months. “It was impossible to keep up. It sometimes fluctuated by 5 cents a day. This morning the price of diesel has also fallen 3 cents again.”
During the Speech from the Throne, it will probably be announced that the VAT reduction will be extended until June next year. “Of course it is now cheaper than it was before. But we must not forget that the reduction is over. If they come back on top, we will have sky-high prices again.”