The Austrian government will extend the so-called fuel price cap for another month. The measure is intended to mitigate the impact of higher oil prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

The cap was introduced in April and originally consisted of two parts. The government limited retailers’ margins and simultaneously reduced the fuel tax, which together amounted to 10 cents per liter. However, it lifted the margin cap in June.

Currently, the tax reduction of 1.9 cents per liter remains in effect, and the conservative-led government will extend it until the end of September. The three centrist parties in the coalition government decide each month whether to continue the measure and in what form.

Critics, including the Freedom Party of Austria, argue that the remaining relief is too small for consumers to feel a significant difference.

State Secretary Michaela Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party of Austria nevertheless described the fuel price cap as an important government tool in the fight against inflation.

(Reuters, bak)