The toll of the energy crisis has already arrived : €150 million is being taken out of Italians' pockets every week, while fuel prices are inflating oil companies' profits (+€88 million) and state tax revenues (+€61 million). Despite the decline in fuel prices beginning to be seen at the pump, including in Sardinia, the calculations compiled by Codacons highlight the alarm over the inflationary risk stemming from the ongoing energy crisis . Even if it were to end soon, according to a study by Confesercenti-Cer, it would effectively nullify Italy's recovery, with GDP growth expected to decline by 0.3% in 2026 , equivalent to €9.7 billion.

Amidst the current uncertainty , aviation fuel concerns remain high, and the crisis is also raising tensions within the government majority , with a spat between Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Minister Adolfo Urso. The outlook is worrying. According to Confesercenti-Cer, "even assuming a lasting truce and a gradual return to energy prices, at least seven to eight months would still be needed to return to full normalization . This would be enough time to significantly compromise the 2026 trend," and consumption would slow by 3.9 billion euros, with part of the impact absorbed by households through the reduction in household savings (-3.9 billion). Investments would suffer the sharpest slowdown, falling by 7.7 billion compared to pre-conflict forecasts. Confesercenti's alarm is particularly high for the tourism sector, with a slowdown in expected spending growth of €2.9 billion (of which €2.6 billion from foreigners) and 11.29 million fewer overnight stays. And while Assoutenti points out that flight fares to exotic tourist destinations are plummeting, the flip side of the coin is that rising jet fuel prices in the coming weeks could skyrocket prices for European destinations. Meanwhile, for the second consecutive day, pump prices have fallen across Italy, with the average price of diesel at €2.166 per liter (-1.4 cents) and gasoline at €1.790 per liter (-0.3 cents). On the highway, diesel costs €2.193 per liter (-0.8 cents), while petrol costs €1.817 per liter (-0.6 cents).

The reduction comes in the wake of the drop in oil prices and was prompted by warnings from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister Urso's summoning of the major oil companies . Yesterday, however, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini weighed in on the matter: "I expect Minister Urso to summon the oil companies," "because companies are very quick to raise prices when there's a problem, but much slower to reduce prices when prices drop." The head of the Ministry of Transport (MIMIT) responded almost immediately: "The oil companies have accepted our call to immediately reduce fuel prices, formulated at Thursday's meeting at the Ministry of Transport, as demonstrated by the drop in pump prices recorded over the last two days." "In this too, Italy is proving more effective than other European countries," Urso specified, so much so that " for the first time, citizens of other European countries are coming to fill up their tanks in Italy ."

(Unioneonline)

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