On Wednesday 18 March the Council of Ministers approved some measures to limit the increase in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East. Giorgia Meloni then presented the executive’s decisions in an interview with Tg1. There are three approved measures and they have been operational since Thursday 19 March, exactly one week.
There is a reduction of approximately 25 cents per liter for twenty days in excise duties on fuel, i.e. the fixed taxes calculated on each liter of fuel sold. And then a tax credit on diesel for hauliers (i.e. a tax break that will allow them to pay less), and finally a rule against price speculation which provides for “a special control regime”. Despite the cut in excise duties decided by the government, however, it is still time for increases in fuel prices at the pump, driven by the rise in international oil prices.
Because prices don’t drop
A week after the government’s emergency decree which cut excise duties by around 25 cents per liter (24.4, to be precise) for twenty days, prices at the petrol pump are recording almost unchanged values. Anyone who goes to fill up these days knows this well. As highlighted by the weekly data from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (Mase), petrol costs on average 4 cents less than what was recorded before the intervention. The situation is also unchanged for diesel, 0.1 cents per liter cheaper.
The measure, which according to the government’s intentions should have brought prices down immediately, is not working. And it is not working for a simple reason: the continuous increases in oil prices due to the war in the Middle East, also due to the recent attacks on refineries in the Gulf countries, are canceling the effects of the measure. Of course, if there had not been the excise duty cut measure, prices would have been even higher.
Today’s prices
Let’s take a quick look at the prices. The Ministry of Business and Made in Italy announces that, based on the latest data collected by the Mimit Observatory on fuel prices, today – Thursday 26 March – the average price of fuel in self-service mode along the national road network is equal to 1.743 euros per liter for petrol and 2.040 euros per liter for diesel. On the motorway network, however, the average self-service price is 1.806 euros per liter for petrol and 2.102 euros per liter for diesel.
The burden of excise duties
The composition of fuel prices has changed. Despite the absence of substantial differences, the government decree has reversed the share of the total price attributable to excise duties. The report from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (Mase) calculates that in the findings of March 23, fiscal taxes accounted for 44.6% of the average price charged, equal to 1.779 euros per litre. This is a drop of over ten percentage points compared to the survey of March 16, when on the average price of petrol, equal to 1.819 euros per litre, excise duties occupied over 55% of the total.
Excise duties also drop for diesel. On March 16, the national price of 2.033 euros per liter was made up of 51.1% excise duties and VAT, a level of taxation that has no equal in Europe. According to the most recent survey, taxes account for 41.4% of the final price, equal to 2.023 euros per litre.
There is compensation
So, what price element is behind the stable level recorded in the last seven days? The increase in industrial prices, the component that includes raw materials, processing and transport costs, weighs on petrol and diesel. The tax portion was almost completely offset by the increase in the industrial price of fuel net of taxation. Obvious result: prices at the pump do not drop.
Since March 16, the price of Brent oil has continued to travel at high values, going from 95 to peaks of 110 dollars a barrel. Brent is a type of crude oil, extracted from the North Sea, which serves as the main reference for crude oil prices in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. industrial price of fuel net of taxation.
In recent days, the glimmers of an agreement on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and, more generally, of a short-term end to the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran have pushed the price of crude oil downwards, below 100 dollars a barrel. However, the prices do not have an immediate impact on the price applied for supplies. Distributors must first dispose of crude oil supplies already purchased at the higher rates.
The deadline is April 7th. And then?
The hope of the Meloni government is that in the next few days pump prices will drop a little, as an effect of the cooling on the price of oil. The date to mark on the calendar is Tuesday 7 April 2026, the last day to fill up with the discount. Then, unless the government extends it, excise duties will rise again: an increase of around 24.4 cents per liter for petrol and diesel will have to be taken into account.
According to Codacons, assuming a rise in prices at the current rate and without the umbrella offered by the excise duty provision, from Wednesday 8 April onwards the average price of diesel risks flying above 2.5 euros per liter throughout Italy.
The deputy minister for the economy, Maurizio Leo, has denied the rumors about new interventions by the government to combat the high cost of fuel, at least in the immediate future. “We are evaluating, but I don’t think so,” he told journalists who asked him if the measure will be examined by the Council of Ministers convened today.
Below are the average fuel prices published on the website of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, updated every morning. Data for Thursday 26 March 2026, region by region.
Abruzzo
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,025 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,739 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.667 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,462 |
Basilicata
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,048 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,775 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.670 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,538 |
Calabria
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,053 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,766 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.716 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,618 |
Campania
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,042 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,758 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.642 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,505 |
Emilia Romagna
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,040 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,736 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.638 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,510 |
Friuli Venezia Giulia
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,041 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,740 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.658 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,524 |
Lazio
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,030 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,737 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.638 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,669 |
Liguria
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,044 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,747 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.745 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,530 |
Lombardy
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,049 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,739 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.641 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,521 |
Marche
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,016 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,722 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.659 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,482 |
Molise
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,056 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,760 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.682 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,473 |
Piedmont
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,044 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,736 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.632 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,511 |
Puglia
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,040 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,756 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.635 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,639 |
Sardinia
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,044 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,740 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.763 |
Sicily
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,057 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,766 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.728 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,812 |
Tuscany
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,032 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,732 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.654 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,585 |
Umbria
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,024 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,734 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.653 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,493 |
Aosta Valley
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,067 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,753 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.792 |
Veneto
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,029 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,729 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.652 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,494 |
Province of Bolzano
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,071 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,769 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.764 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,693 |
Province of Trento
| TYPE |
DELIVERY |
AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel |
SELF |
2,054 |
| Gas |
SELF |
1,743 |
| LPG |
SERVED |
0.686 |
| Methane |
SERVED |
1,591 |
