Codacons, Italy’s leading consumer‑rights organization, has been tracking fuel price lists that operators submit to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIMIT). The association says that on several highway service areas the price of served diesel is now just shy of €2.90 per litre, a level that many motorists consider a new psychological ceiling.
The group has formally requested that the ministry clarify whether the reported figures reflect actual retail prices or merely communication errors. Codacons points to a series of price points collected between yesterday and today, noting that on the A11, A12 and A21 motorways diesel is listed at €2.899 per litre, while gasoline on the same routes exceeds €2.70 per litre.
Across a broader sample of 13 highways, the association recorded diesel prices above €2.80 per litre at multiple locations: €2.874 on the A4 Milan‑Brescia stretch, €2.864 on the Naples ring road, €2.859 on the A14 Bologna‑Bari‑Taranto and A22 Brenner‑Modena, €2.844 on the A8/A26 branch, €2.839 on the A1 Milan‑Naples, €2.829 on the A15 Parma‑La Spezia and A24 Rome‑L’Aquila, €2.819 on the A13 Bologna‑Padua, and €2.814 on the A5 Aosta‑Quincinetto.
Special‑grade diesel, which commands a premium, has already breached the €3.00 mark. Codacons highlights a price of €3.048 per litre on the A4 Venice‑Trieste corridor and €3.019 per litre on the A21 Turin‑Piacenza route.
On the ordinary road network, a few stations have begun communicating even higher figures. In Belvedere di Spinello, Crotone province, the latest MIMIT filing shows a standard diesel price of €3.189 per litre and a premium “Oro Diesel” at €3.269 per litre. Six independent petrol‑station operators in Cuneo province have reported a standard diesel price of €3.103 per litre.
Other ordinary‑road sites have also approached the €3.00 threshold: served diesel is listed at €2.999 per litre in Torella dei Lombardi (Avellino), €2.997 in Prato, €2.899 in Petralla (Pescara), and €2.896 in Atessa (Chieti).
The Italian Antitrust Authority, responding to a Codacons complaint, said it has found no irregularities in the formation of pump prices. In its statement, the regulator noted that retail fuel prices result from a complex mix of components that fluctuate daily, and that price variations cannot be automatically linked to tax changes alone. It added that there is no evidence of dominant operators exploiting market power to generate margins beyond cost, even amid the current geopolitical and fiscal pressures.