While 4.4% of all fuel purchases made by French consumers take place in neighbouring Germany, this is as high as 20% in border regions, a new study by Insee, the French statistics agency, has found.
Fuel purchasing habits among French consumers have varied as a result of different fiscal policies in both France and Germany, including the introduction of a carbon tax in Germany in 2021 and fuel discounts in both countries in 2022.
Changes to fuel prices
When fuel prices in Germany increased relative to France, border residents began purchasing more fuel domestically. A 10-cent increase in German fuel prices halved the amount of fuel bought in Germany by residents of these border areas.
Fuel purchases in Germany by these households fell from over 15% of their total fuel consumption (in both France and Germany) at the end of 2020 to 8% in 2021, dropping below 5% in some months during 2022.
This trend reversed in early 2023, with purchases in Germany rising again to over 10%.
Consumer price index
Elsewhere, Insee noted that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in France is expected to rise by 1.2% in September 2024, after +1.8% in August, according to provisional estimates.
The significant decrease in inflation is primarily attributed to a drop in energy prices, particularly for petroleum products.
Additionally, the annual increase in service prices is expected to slow, while the prices of manufactured products are predicted to decline more sharply than in the previous month. Elsewhere, the prices of food and tobacco are anticipated to continue rising at the same pace as in August.
