ACM’s Monitor on fuel prices: slight drop in fuel prices across the entire chain, diesel is once again cheaper than gasoline
Summary
- The Monitor on fuel prices shows how crude-oil price trends affect the fuel chain, and where profit margins have risen.
- Fuel prices across the entire fuel chain have gone down slightly compared with a month ago. The price of diesel at the pump is lower than that of gasoline again.
- The picture that average profit margins went up (not at gas stations, but at the top of the chain) remains unchanged.
Fuel prices across the entire fuel chain have gone down slightly compared with a month ago. This applies to both the production of crude oil, the processing (refinery) of crude oil into various products, as well as the sale of gasoline and diesel at gas stations (or petrol stations). The price of diesel at the pump fell below the price of gasoline again last month. The picture that average profit margins went up (not at gas stations, but at the top of the chain) remains unchanged. This has been revealed by an update of the Monitor on fuel prices of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).
Martijn Snoep, Chair of the Board of ACM, explains: “Each day, prices in the fuel chain affect many people and businesses. That’s why we keep a close watch on market trends, and offer insight into how prices are evolving. In this way, we contribute to more transparency in markets.”
Production: slight drop in crude-oil prices
The price for crude oil dropped slightly this month, but is still (at the time of writing, June 8) approximately 40 percent higher than before the war in Iran. At the moment, oil prices are going down further in connection with the announced ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran.
Crude-oil prices and retail prices of gasoline and diesel
The trend graph above shows the price fluctuations of crude oil as well as the fuel prices for gasoline and diesel at the pump from 2021 through June 8, 2026. The vertical line on the left marks the moment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The vertical line on the right marks the start of the conflict in the Middle East, brought on by the joint attack on Iran by Israel and the United States on February 28, 2026. The price shown for crude oil is the spot price of Brent oil in euros per liter. The retail prices shown are the average national prices for Premium unleaded 95 and Diesel, including excise duty and VAT. The excise duty on fuel is a fixed amount per liter and has not been the same in every time period. The increase in the price of oil is an indication of a higher average profit margin, as it is unlikely that the production costs of oil have risen to the same extent.
Refinery: less variation between profit margins on fuels
At the refinery level, the variation between average profit margins on gasoline, diesel, and kerosene seems to have decreased compared with last month. The average profit margin at the refinery level for diesel and kerosene dropped last month, while the average profit margin for gasoline at refineries actually rose. At the same time, the trend graph in the monitor shows that, at the moment, the margin on gasoline is not particularly high. The increase in the margin on gasoline puts a brake on the gasoline price following the oil price (which is slightly dropping). This development does result in diesel currently being cheaper again than gasoline at the pump.
Differences between wholesale prices and crude oil
The trend chart above shows, for gasoline (eurobob) and diesel (ULSD) at the refinery level, the difference between the price of crude oil and the wholesale price from 2021 through June 8, 2026. This difference per fuel gives an indication of the profitability of refineries when producing specific fuels. However, the difference is not equal to the actual profit margins of refineries. First, a refinery has other costs besides crude oil, such as energy consumption, transportation, and maintenance costs. Additionally, the revenues from all refined products, including fuel oil, bitumen, and naphtha, must be taken into account. A refinery is hardly able to adjust its refining activities to the profitability of various refined products. Each type of oil gives a fixed proportion of refined products.
At the pump: diesel is once again cheaper than gasoline
At this point, the price of diesel at the pump has again dropped below that of gasoline, but still remains significantly higher than it was before the war in Iran. The average profit margins at the retail level continue to fluctuate significantly, and seem to have dropped slightly over the past month for both diesel and gasoline.
Differences between wholesale prices + certificates and retail prices
The trend chart above shows the difference between the retail price and the wholesale price for gasoline (top line) and diesel (bottom line) from 2021 through June 8, 2026. The retail prices are the average national retail prices for Premium unleaded 95 and Diesel, excluding excise duty and VAT. For the wholesale prices at which gas station owners purchase fuel, we assume the wholesale price plus additional costs for compliance with renewable-fuel legislation. We estimate these costs on the basis of certificates to be purchased. This difference includes various components, for example transportation and storage costs, financing costs, and the gas station’s profit margin. The difference shown is not equal to the actual profit margins of gas stations. In the graph, a vertical line indicates the start of the conflict in the Middle East (February 28, 2026).
Monitor on fuel prices
Due to the turmoil in the market for crude oil, ACM keeps a close watch on the developments in the fuel chain. Since May 2026, ACM publishes the Monitor on fuel prices. The monitor shows price fluctuations on three levels in the chain: production, refinery, and retail. The data in the monitor has been updated through June 8, 2026.
For the entire Monitor on fuel prices, visit this (external website) page.