Italy Fuel Prices 2026 — Diesel Above €2.25, Truckers' Strikes and Gas Bills

How much do petrol and diesel cost in Italy in 2026?

Italy's Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) publishes daily average pump prices. On 27 April, self-service diesel averaged €2.059 a litre and petrol €1.738 ^[6]. Prices eased in early summer, with diesel at €1.941 on 8 July ^[7]. They climbed again later in the summer, reaching €2.137 for diesel on 26 August ^[8].

The peak came in late September. On 26 September, diesel averaged €2.357 and petrol €2.158 on the ordinary road network, AGI reported ^[9]. Codacons said diesel was then 63.4 cents a litre, or 36.8%, dearer than on 27 February, its pre-war reference date ^[9]. Petrol was up 48.6 cents, or 29% ^[9].

Prices fell back at the end of September. From 28 September, Eni capped diesel at €2.19 and petrol at €1.99 for 30 days ^[13]. IP and Q8 followed with caps or discounts ^[13]. Euronews said these covered more than 11,000 stations, over half the national network ^[13]. By 30 September the ministry average for diesel had dropped to €2.316 ^[10]. It was €2.242 on 5 October ^[11] and €2.261 on 8 October ^[12].

Mid-October readings were stable. The ministry put road-network diesel at €2.256 and motorway diesel at €2.278, as reported by Il Foglio ^[1]. On 17 October the road average was €2.257 ^[4].

The cost adds up. Consumer group Adusbef estimated an extra €4.7bn in fuel spending over six months, Teleborsa reported ^[11]. The CGIA research office in Mestre expected households to spend €1.1bn more in October alone, despite the price caps ^[11].

What happened to Italy's diesel excise cut?

The government first cut fuel excise duty by decree in March, after the conflict broke out ^[13]. The relief was renewed several times and gradually reduced. In May, the relief was extended to 6 June ^[14]. Shipping Italy reported that the diesel discount would fall from 20 to 10 cents a litre ^[14]. By September it stood at 12.2 cents ^[9].

On 26 September the discount was halved to 6.1 cents, and the ministry linked the rise in diesel that week to the change ^[9]. The cut then expired at midnight on 5 October with no replacement ^[2]. It was the first full removal of fuel tax relief since March ^[13].

The government had promised a "floating" excise mechanism. It would use extra value added tax (VAT) revenue from higher oil prices to fund cuts ^[2]. A joint decree from the economy and energy ministries had not been issued when the old discount lapsed ^[2]. Il Foglio noted that the mechanism depends on price trends and guarantees no fixed discount ^[1].

Euronews reported that the prime minister's office prefers targeted aid to across-the-board tax cuts ^[13]. Eni later kept its price cap but raised the diesel ceiling from €2.19 to €2.25 a litre ^[2].

Why did Italian truckers strike in October 2026?

Road haulage carries 92% of Italian freight, Il Post noted ^[18]. Hauliers had already threatened action in the spring. The Unatras coordination suspended a national stoppage planned for 25–29 May ^[14]. The government had offered €300 million in tax credits, of which €200 million was new money ^[14].

Pressure built again in the autumn. On 28 September the Sicilian hauliers' committee called a port stoppage from 16 to 20 October ^[15]. It cited fuel costs and late payments under Sea Modal Shift, a scheme that pays firms to ship trailers by sea ^[15]. After the excise cut ended, Assotir's secretary-general Claudio Donati spoke about a possible sector-wide strike ^[13]. He called it "a last-resort weapon because it means bringing the country to a standstill" ^[13].

Protests began in Puglia on 11 October and spread to Campania, Calabria and Sicily, QuiFinanza reported ^[4]. Drivers blocked toll booths and junctions, including on the A2 and A30 ^[4]. Il Foglio reported that the A14 between Termoli and Poggio Imperiale was closed in both directions ^[1]. In Calabria, the Fedralog group set up protest camps near the port of Gioia Tauro ^[1].

The effects were felt quickly. The Associated Press reported empty supermarket shelves and fuel pumps in Naples on 20 October ^[16]. Sicily reported shortages of fresh pasta, cheese, meat and produce, partly because shoppers stockpiled ^[16]. QuiFinanza said waste collection stopped in more than 15 Sicilian municipalities, and fuel ran short on Ischia and Procida ^[4].

Hauliers' demands totalled about €534 million ^[4]. They included €430 million in fuel tax credits and about €104 million in arrears on maritime incentives ^[4]. The Confartigianato Trasporti association said filling a 900-litre truck tank cost €1,503.78 in February and €1,971.61 by mid-September ^[4].

Who else has protested over fuel costs?

Farmers and fishermen have joined the hauliers. On 28 September about thirty tractors blocked the Palermo–Agrigento road near Bolognetta, LaPresse reported ^[15]. Farmers near Foggia protested against agricultural diesel above €1.60 a litre, according to Il Foglio ^[1].

Fishing crews from Chioggia to Termoli called a national strike for 22 October, Il Post reported ^[17]. Fishing diesel is exempt from excise duty. Even so, crews in Manfredonia said its price had risen from 65 cents a litre before the war to almost €1.50 ^[17]. On 18 March the government set aside €10 million for a fishing tax credit ^[17]. It covers 20% of diesel costs from March to May ^[17].

One supply disruption had a different cause. Former Ilva steelworkers blocked access to Eni's Taranto refinery from 12 October over a dispute about the steelworks ^[1]. Eni said more than 50 of the roughly 300 stations it supplies ran dry before the blockade ended on 16 October ^[1].

How has the government responded?

Ministers have combined talks with industry and sector aid. Business Minister Adolfo Urso and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto summoned Eni, IP, Q8, Saras and Isab to discuss domestic supply ^[13]. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the oil companies' price caps and thanked "all those who are making an effort at a difficult time" ^[13].

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini met haulage associations in Milan on 20 October ^[4]. He promised tax credits to offset diesel costs, the AP reported ^[16]. Unatras president Paolo Uggè said payments would start the next day ^[16]. Deputy Minister Edoardo Rixi announced €480 million for the sector ^[4]. The Sicilian committee then lifted its stoppage, saying almost all its requests had been met ^[4].

On 22 October the cabinet approved a €175.2 million package for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen ^[3]. The last picket lines in Campania came down on 23 October ^[3]. Giuseppe Richichi of the Sicilian AIAS association told AFP the government was only paying money it already owed ^[3]. A further meeting with associations was held at the transport ministry on 27 October ^[18]. Their common demands are an extension of the 20% diesel tax credit and automatic fuel-cost clauses in haulage rates ^[18].

At EU level, Meloni has called for a further delay to ETS2, the new carbon market for road fuels and heating ^[2]. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti supports an ad hoc tax on oil and gas companies' extra profits ^[2].

Why does Qatar's LNG matter for Italian gas and power bills?

Italy is more exposed to Gulf gas than most of Europe. Qatar supplied a third of Italy's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in 2025, according to Bruegel ^[19]. That compares with 8% of LNG imports for the EU as a whole ^[19]. Bruegel also notes that gas sets Italy's electricity price 90% of the time ^[19].

Household bills reflect that exposure. The energy regulator ARERA raised gas tariffs for vulnerable customers by 12.7% in September from August ^[5]. About 2.3 million households are on that service ^[5]. A typical vulnerable family using 1,100 cubic metres a year would pay about €1,782 for gas and €869 for electricity ^[5]. Codacons put gas tariffs 52% above September 2025 ^[5].

The shock shows up in inflation. Istat's provisional data put September consumer price inflation at 4.2%, Finanza.com reported ^[20]. Regulated energy prices rose 25.9% on the year and unregulated energy, including fuels, 22.2% ^[20].

What to watch

• 31 October. The oil companies' price caps and discounts are due to end ^[1].
• The floating excise decree. Whether the joint ministerial decree is issued, and how large any VAT-funded cut is ^[2].
• Haulage talks. Associations want the 20% diesel tax credit extended; Fedralog has threatened a protest in Rome if talks fail ^[18].
• Gas tariffs. ARERA's monthly updates for vulnerable customers will track wholesale prices through the winter ^[5].
• EU decisions. Italy's push to delay ETS2 and the debate on windfall taxes ^[2].

Alupetra tracks European diesel, gasoline and gas prices every trading day; our market pages follow the wholesale benchmarks behind Italian pump prices.