More Competition (Only) Through Greater Market Transparency? – Twelve Years of the Fuel Market Transparency Agency in Germany

At the end of 2013, the Market Transparency Agency for Fuels (MTS-K) was introduced in Germany: Gas stations must report every price change to the agency within five minutes, and retail consumers can now check current fuel prices through consumer information services. As a result of the Iran War, the Austrian Fuel Price Rule was introduced in Germany in the spring of 2026, effective April 1, 2026, under which gas stations are permitted to raise prices only at 12:00 noon. This paper examines what the Transparency Agency has achieved for competition (economically) over the past twelve years. Descriptively, following the introduction of the MTS-K, first, prices for E5 gasoline and diesel fell slightly or remained relatively low; in 2022, there were sharp price increases that were not fully reversed later on. Second, retail prices closely track crude oil prices, though this correlation has become less clear in recent times. Third, until the start of the war in Ukraine, Germany was a low-price country in terms of net fuel prices—at least compared to its neighboring countries. Fourth, the significantly increased number of daily price cycles is striking, and fifth, the difference between the daily high and low prices has risen sharply. Sixth, at least recently, prices in rural areas have been higher than in urban areas. And seventh, the price differences between individual weekdays, between Sundays/holidays and weekdays, and between non-holiday and holiday days have disappeared. The rise in daily price cycles is evidence of intense price rivalry at gas stations. It is not, by itself, evidence that prices were driven to the competitive floor.