Germans Hurt Less by Higher Oil Prices

The financial impact on German private households of the spectacular rise in oil prices this year is likely to have been softened slightly by the strength of the euro, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated on Wednesday. Destatis estimated that private households would face around €2.4 billion ($3.1 billion) in additional fuel costs this year as a result of the runaway price of oil. That is much less than the €9-billion increase in fuel costs seen in 1999/2000 when oil prices also surged strongly. At that time, crude oil prices rose by just under 60 percent on a dollar basis, but soared by 80 percent when calculated in euros, because of the then-weakness of single currency in 1999/2000. By contrast, in the first nine months of the current year, crude oil prices rose by 44 percent in dollar terms, but only by 33 percent in euro terms, Destatis said. Furthermore, the fuel bill for private households has been further shortened by the fact that consumers have throttled fuel consumption and also sought cheaper and more efficient sources of energy, the office found. (AFP)