# Petrol falls below €2.50 a litre, lowest since July

> Petrol and diesel are getting cheaper as the oil price falls, though both remain far more expensive than at the start of the year.

Economy · published 2026-11-07 11:05 · updated 2026-11-07 14:35 · https://nlnow.nl/a/petrol-falls-below-2-50-a-litre-lowest-since-july/

The recommended pump price for a litre of petrol in the Netherlands has fallen below €2.50, its lowest level since July. Diesel has also become cheaper. The oil price has dropped below $100 a barrel for the first time in more than a month.

Pump prices lag behind the oil price. In the Netherlands the effect is smaller, because a large part of the petrol price is excise duty and VAT. Petrol and diesel are still much more expensive than at the start of the year.

Average pump prices on 2 November were €2.284 a litre for Euro95 petrol and €2.468 for diesel, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports. Petrol has fallen for three weeks in a row, while diesel was almost unchanged from the week before (€2.469).

**Petrol is now the cheapest at the pump since early August** (€ per litre; source: CBS)

- 3 Aug: 2.37
- 10 Aug: 2.29
- 17 Aug: 2.329
- 24 Aug: 2.353
- 31 Aug: 2.35
- 7 Sep: 2.466
- 14 Sep: 2.434
- 21 Sep: 2.449
- 28 Sep: 2.465
- 5 Oct: 2.432
- 12 Oct: 2.462
- 19 Oct: 2.391
- 26 Oct: 2.313
- 2 Nov: 2.284

The European gas price has fallen to about €88 per megawatt-hour since the US midterm elections, a drop of 15%. It peaked at almost €104 last Friday, after passing €100 for the first time since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In February, before the Iran war began, it was below €30.

The fall in gas prices does not show up on energy bills at once. Suppliers often wait to see whether it lasts, especially if they paid a high purchase price. Customers on a dynamic contract already see the fall.

The Iran war, which began in February, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that came with it have had a major effect on fuel prices this year. It is still very uncertain how the US election result will affect the war, and so the oil price.

Petrol fell further on Saturday. The average recommended price for a litre of Euro95 was €2.457, 0.6 cent less than on Friday, according to UnitedConsumers, a consumer platform that tracks the daily recommended prices of the big oil companies. Diesel averaged €2.60, 1.2 cent cheaper than a day earlier.

On 10 October petrol hit a record average recommended price of €2.732 a litre.

**What this means for you**

- A fixed tariff (vast tarief) keeps the price per kWh or m3 the same for a set period, for example 1 or 3 years. Ending it early can bring a cancellation fee (opzegvergoeding).
- After a fixed contract ends, it becomes a variable tariff (variabel tarief), and the supplier (energieleverancier) must give at least 30 days' notice of the new rates.
- The supplier can change a variable tariff, usually at set moments such as every 3 months, with at least 1 month's notice. Cancelling carries no cancellation fee.
- A dynamic tariff (dynamisch tarief) follows wholesale market prices. Electricity prices change every quarter-hour, hour or day, and gas prices change daily. Solar panel owners may pay an export fee (terugleverkosten) set out in the contract.
Source: ACM ConsuWijzer: vaste en variabele leveringskosten (https://consument.acm.nl/elektriciteit-en-gas/wat-betaal-ik-voor-mijn-energie/vaste-variabele-leveringskosten-energie), read 2026-11-07

## Background

- **CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek)**: Statistics Netherlands, the independent government body that produces the official statistics on the Dutch economy and society.
- **dynamisch energiecontract**: A dynamic energy contract is an electricity or gas contract where the price per unit changes with the wholesale market, often hour by hour or day by day, instead of staying fixed for a year. Customers on this type of contract pay more when wholesale prices rise and less when they fall, so they feel market changes quickly. Energy tax, VAT and any fixed supplier fees are usually added on top of the variable price.

From NLnow, news from the Netherlands in English. How stories are made: https://nlnow.nl/about/