Italy petrol tops €2.6: opposition and groups sound alarm, govt weighs variable fuel duty
Fuel costs are back in the spotlight: in Milan and on motorways prices exceed €2.60 a litre. Opposition parties and associations warn of hikes hitting families and firms, while the Meloni government drafts measures to stem the crisis.
Published on 26/07/2026 - 11:49 GMT+2
Fuel prices for petrol and diesel are once again causing concern in Italy. On Saturday in Milan, a price of €2.6 per litre for petrol was recorded at a filling station in the city centre. While opposition parties accuse the government of not having done enough to prevent a new economic crisis, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister for Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso are working on new measures to keep petrol prices in check.
Fuel prices in Italy have been rising since 3 July, when the cut in excise duties introduced by the government at the outbreak of the war between the US and Iran to tackle the price emergency came to an end. On Sunday, the ministry headed by Urso reported that, according to the latest data collected by the Fuel Price Observatory, the average price in "self-service" mode on the national road network stands at €1.981 per litre for petrol and €2.184 per litre for diesel. On the motorway network, meanwhile, the average self-service price is €2.071 per litre for petrol and €2.255 per litre for diesel.
Prices at the pump, however, rise significantly. According to local sources, on Saturday prices of over €2.7 per litre for diesel and €2.5 per litre for petrol were recorded on the A21 Turin-Piacenza, A4 Venice-Trieste, A22 Brenner-Modena motorways, and on the Milan-Brescia and Messina-Palermo routes. In Rome, several filling stations reached €2.3 per litre for petrol.
The alarm raised by associations and consumers
Consumer organisations have also sounded the alarm over the increases. According to Codacons, Italians' spending on fuel will reach €10.8 billion, almost €2 billion more than in 2025.
"The comparison with last year is merciless: with consumption unchanged and taking into account the average monthly price of fuels in July 2025, by the end of the month Italians will spend an impressive €841 million more solely on purchases of petrol and diesel than in the same period in 2025," Codacons explained in a statement released on Saturday.
At the same time, the research office of the Cgia di Mestre has estimated that in 2026 households and businesses will face almost €29 billion in additional costs for electricity, gas and fuels. Petrol and diesel show the largest increase, with extra spending of €13.6 billion, up 20.4% on 2025.
Government measures under review and opposition criticism
The government is looking at measures to reduce the impact of soaring fuel prices, including a variable excise duty mechanism that would allow prices to fall in line with the higher VAT revenue collected as prices rise. "To activate this system, we first need to wait for the Economy Ministry's calculations on the month's surplus VAT revenue, which will only be available next week and will determine the scale of the possible cut," he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera, and added: "The surplus VAT takings could be used to offset a reduction in excise duty, while any further measures would require additional funding".
The minister then defended the government's action against speculation, arguing that the Italian model of price control is being emulated by other countries and that thanks to this system fuel prices in Italy have risen less than elsewhere.
The opposition has called on the government to adopt more substantial measures to help citizens. "Meloni should now at least accept our proposal on variable excise duties, which would allow the price of petrol and diesel to be cut immediately. After all, those who once promised to abolish excise duties altogether, how can they now oppose this measure?" said Democratic Party secretary Elly Schelein.
"What we need here are serious measures, and we must act fast and invest to protect families and businesses: when will we start drawing resources from the windfall profits of banks, energy giants and the arms industry? When from the state's extra takings generated by the various price hikes and by the crazy spending on rearmament? When will we go to Europe and demand massive investment in an industrial and energy relaunch strategy, as we did during the pandemic with the NRRP? The country needs to be lifted up again and citizens need some breathing space. Enough with the whistling," Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte wrote on social media.
