€3.049 per liter. That is the price displayed in mid-August 2026 at a German gas station for premium Aral Ultimate 102 fuel, a record captured on the ground and reported by the site 4Legend.com. This price level is no isolated incident in Germany: on our fuel price comparator, several stations now show prices around €3.000/L, across all fuel types.
A one-off record, but a price ceiling that is taking hold
According to 4Legend's field report, the Aral station showed 304.9 cents per liter for the Ultimate 102, a premium fuel with a 102 octane rating sold exclusively by the Aral network, with no equivalent in France, where the market traditionally caps out at 98-octane (SP98). Three weeks later, at another Aral station in the south of the country, Ultimate Diesel was also nearing €3/L. Two readings, in two opposite regions, at the same brand: rather than a one-off accident, these prices confirm a ceiling that has structurally settled on premium German fuels this summer, against a backdrop of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Our German data confirms the trend
On our comparator for Germany, national averages are also trending upward: diesel stands at €2.296/L (+11.8 cents over 7 days), Super E5 (95) at €2.302/L and Super Plus (98) at €2.244/L, each up more than 8% over a month. At the top of our ranking, several stations clearly exceed these averages: WEVAG in Bocholt shows €3.000/L across all three fuels (diesel, Super 95 and Super 98) — an exact match that should be taken with caution, more likely a sign of a calculation artifact than a confirmed pump reading. Two other stations show more realistic differences between fuel types while crossing the same threshold: LEO Hattorf, at €2.999/L for diesel and Super 95 (€2.949/L for Super 98), and T Xpress in Dortmund, at €2.909/L for diesel and Super 98, and €2.969/L for Super 95.
Why such a gap with France
Two compounding factors explain these levels. First, a general surge in fuel prices across Europe this summer, linked to tensions over crude oil supply. Second, a quirk of the German market: stations there adjust their prices several times a day, with an almost systematic increase around midday, which can make the same pump vary by several cents within a few hours. France, meanwhile, has been comparatively spared from this level of price tension.
Why is gasoline so expensive in Germany right now?
The increase is explained by international tensions over oil supply (the Strait of Hormuz area), combined with a German pricing system that adjusts prices several times a day. Premium fuels like Aral's Ultimate 102, which are rarer and structurally more expensive, further widen the gap with standard fuel.