German coalition announces fuel price relief worth $1.9 bln

Germany's governing coalition on Monday announced fuel price relief for consumers and businesses worth 1.6 billion ⁠euros ($1.9 billion), ⁠following a spike in oil prices due to the Iran war.

The energy tax on diesel ⁠and petrol will be reduced by about 0.17 euros per litre for a period of two months, a joint paper by the conservative CDU party and their centre-left SPD coalition partners said.

The Iran war has forced ⁠countries, including ⁠Germany, to tackle the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies and a planned U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas is further inflating crude oil prices.

Speaking at a press conference ⁠on Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the coalition was doing everything it could to tackle problems caused by the Iran war, which has been put on hold for now ⁠in ‌a fragile ‌ceasefire deal.

The coalition partners ⁠also agreed ‌to allow companies to pay a 1,000 euro relief bonus ⁠per employee, free ⁠of payroll taxes and social security ⁠charges.