Due to a substantial drop of over 15 cents per litre of diesel, Luxembourg’s petrol stations have once again become more attractive than their French competitors, who previously benefited from a government discount of 30 cents per litre since the beginning of September. Only Total service stations remain more competitive than their Luxembourgish counterparts, thanks to an additional discount applied by the TotalEnergies group.
Luxembourg’s petrol stations will once again have the edge, thanks to the combined effect another major drop in fuel prices on Tuesday and a reduction in French fuel discounts on Wednesday morning in the border region of Lorraine. Government discounts introduced in France, but also in Belgium and Germany, disrupted the competitiveness of the Grand Duchy’s service stations numerous times in 2022. In the midst of soaring fuel prices, Luxembourg was overtaken by all its neighbours.
The 30-cent discount per litre of fuel subsidised by the French government since 1 September will be reduced to ten cents on Wednesday 16 November. The TotalEnergies discount will be lowered from 20 to ten cents. These two 10-cent discounts will last until 31 December, but Lorraine’s petrol stations will no longer be able to compete with Luxembourg from mid-November.
This is good news for Luxembourg’s service stations, as the price of a full tank has become noticeably cheaper again on Wednesday morning.
According to the prices listed on the French government website on Tuesday evening, Total stations in Metz, Longeville-lès-Metz, Thionville, Sarralbe, and Fenétrange should provide a litre of diesel for roughly €1.98 on average on Wednesday morning (assuming they are not out of stock). This is 24.3 cents more than in Luxembourg, where diesel remains at €1.737, which represents a gain of €12.15 for a motorist filling up with 50 litres of diesel in Luxembourg. According to the same website, the ten cheapest supermarket stations in the Moselle region (Leclerc, Intermarché, Auchan...) should sell a litre of diesel for around €1.95 on Wednesday morning. That is 21.3 cents more than in Luxembourg, representing a gain of €10.65 for someone filling up with 50 litres of diesel in Luxembourg.
The same is true for SP95: The ten cheapest petrol stations in Moselle should list an average price of €1.84 per litre. That is 20 cents more than in Luxembourg, where SP95 is listed at €1.64. A driver filling up with 50 litres of SP95 in Luxembourg will thus save €10.
On the other hand, filling up in Luxembourg makes little difference for those in need of SP98. On Wednesday morning, the ten cheapest supermarket stations in Moselle list an average price of €1.88 per litre, compared to €1.873 in Luxembourg.
It remains to be seen how much Luxembourgish petrol stations will benefit from this renewed competitiveness. The Luxembourg Energy and Mobility Group (GEML, formerly known as the Luxembourgish Petroleum Group) is likely to observe this development very closely following the collapse in diesel sales recorded since the beginning of 2022.
