Petrol prices to jump by 14 cents per liter tomorrow; Diesel to rise by 10 cents

The price at the pump will jump up in the Netherlands on Saturday, when the government officially begins to phase back in the excise duty on petrol and diesel. Petrol prices will rise by about 14 cents per liter, while diesel prices will increase by 10 cents per liter.

It could result in an immediately 7 percent increase to the price of petrol, according to the current average recommended fuel selling price calculated by United Consumers. Diesel will rise by roughly 6 percent, if the United Consumers pricing calculated on Thursday holds stable.

The tax was reduced last year as a way of providing households with economic relief in the face of soaring inflation rates. The reduction cost the Dutch State about 42 million euros annually, according to Parool. The excise duty could rise a bit more in another step at a later date.

Because of the increase, filling station owners were expecting many customers to show up on Friday to fill up their vehicles. BETA, an association of independent filling station owners, said that their entrepreneurs were keeping their supplies topped up to be able to handle the crowds.

However, once July begins, BETA chair Ewout Klok said he was afraid Dutch filling stations along the border could lose out.

"Especially in the border area, entrepreneurs are having a hard time. Currently, we were lucky that we were at about the same price level as Belgium and Germany. But now we are pricing ourselves completely out of the market again. It is idiotic that the excise duty differs so much between countries," Klok said earlier this month.