Despite all the turbulence at the pump – because of the Ukraine war or the tax rebate – one constant remains: filling up in the evening saves money. Recently even a lot, as a current study by the ADAC has shown.
Fuel prices are not only high at the moment, they also fluctuate particularly strongly over the course of the day. In July, the ADAC found an average difference of 12 cents between the peak in the morning rush hour and the favorable evening hours, as it announced on Thursday. It is cheapest to refuel between 9 p.m. and just before 10 p.m.
In July this year, the ADAC repeated the daily survey of fuel prices it carried out every May. According to the experts, the turbulence surrounding the tax rebate on petrol and diesel also called into question the typical development over the course of the day. But even if the differences are currently very high, not much has changed in the basic system: Prices rise from around 5 a.m. to reach their peak at around 7 a.m. In July, the prices for both diesel and E10 were then 8 cents higher than the daily average.
From this peak, the price curve for both fuels then runs downwards in waves. From the early afternoon, the price is typically below the daily average. From just after 4 p.m. to just before 10 p.m., it is continuously at least 2 cents with slight fluctuations. If you fill up just before 7 p.m. or between 9 p.m. and just before 10 p.m., you can save even more: up to 4 cents compared to the daily average. During the night there are hardly any price changes.
The 12 cent difference between the E10 and diesel is comparatively large. Since 2015, the ADAC has carried out the examination once a year in May. There has never been a greater gap between morning and evening for the E10, and only once for diesel: in May of this year it was an extraordinary 17 cents.
Read here how motorists can save money when filling up.
