Business · Energy & Commodities · 6 hrs ago
Why lower oil prices have not yet cut fuel costs in Switzerland
Oil supplies are becoming more stable, but petrol prices in Switzerland have not fallen yet.
Tankers are again passing through the Strait of Hormuz, though traffic remains 30 to 40 percent below its level before the war.
Oil has traded just under $100 a barrel since early September, and supply remains uneven.
Lower oil prices take time to reach petrol stations, especially when refining capacity is limited.
Switzerland has one refinery, and a two-week shutdown there previously led to immediate rises at the pump.
Transport also costs more because low water levels on the Rhine mean ships carry less fuel; the river transports about half of the fuel used for Swiss road traffic.
A rise in the Rhine’s water level is expected to help bring down prices at Swiss petrol stations.
Oil prices have fallen, but fuel prices in Switzerland have not yet followed.
Oil tankers are again passing through the Strait of Hormuz, though crossings remain 30 to 40 percent below the level before the war began.
Oil has traded just below $100 a barrel since early September, while markets remain tense and exported volumes fluctuate.
Refinery capacity and higher fuel transport costs are slowing any price drop at the pump.
Low water levels on the Rhine have reduced the amount of fuel ships can carry and raised transport costs.
- Who
- Swiss motorists and fuel consumers are affected. Experts Marcelo Olarreaga and Moreno Volpi explained the reasons for the delay.
- What
- Lower oil prices have not yet led to lower fuel prices in Switzerland.
- When
- The article was published on 12 October 2026. Oil prices had been just below $100 a barrel since early September.
- Where
- Switzerland; the Strait of Hormuz and the Rhine are also relevant to oil supply and fuel transport.
- Why
- The effect of oil-market changes on pump prices takes time, and limited refinery capacity and higher transport costs add pressure.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Oil has traded just below $100 a barrel since early September.
Tanker crossings through the Strait of Hormuz have remained 30 to 40 percent below their pre-war level.
SRF published its report on why lower oil prices had not yet reduced fuel costs in Switzerland.
- Oil price
- Just below $100 a barrel since early September
- Hormuz crossings
- 30 to 40 percent below the level before the war began
- Swiss refinery
- Cressier is Switzerland’s only refinery
- Fuel transport
- Around half of the fuel intended for Swiss road traffic is transported via the Rhine
- Publication date
- 12 October 2026
What people are saying
In Switzerland and elsewhere, it takes longer for shocks in the oil market to affect the price of petrol.
When the Cressier refinery, Switzerland’s only refinery, was shut down for two weeks, prices at the pumps rose immediately.
Only a rise in the Rhine water level will bring down the price at the pump in Switzerland.
Sources
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