Our summer holiday in the sun is about to get a lot more expensive

©Evgenia Stergioula via Unsplash

The International Energy Agency warns that commercial oil supplies are rapidly being depleted. Rising oil prices now worry consumers as well. As summer approaches, conflicts in the Middle East and Russia could make trips to the sunny south a lot more expensive.

The start of the summer holidays in the northern hemisphere will also drive oil demand even higher. Rising gasoline and diesel prices seem inevitable.

The fuel crisis also worries travelers who head for the sunny south every summer. After all, there is little chance that oil prices will drop substantially in the coming months. Moreover, scarcity is increasing. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said this week that commercial oil supplies are rapidly depleting, with only a few weeks' supply left due to the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

Demand for oil is always higher in spring and summer because farmers plant their crop and the northern hemisphere goes on vacation. "Demand for diesel, fertilizer, kerosene and gasoline will increase," the head of the International Energy Agency stressed at a press conference.

A 3,000-kilometer trip for a vacation today costs on average about 50 euros more in fuel compared to a year ago. In France and Germany you can still find gasoline under 2 euros per liter, but mainly along the regular road, not on the motorway. At first glance, France seems advantageous, but in reality gasoline there is about 25 cents per liter more expensive than in 2025. Dutch vacationers will soon notice that difference in their wallets. Those who travel 3,000 kilometers by car or motorhome during the vacations will simply pay about 50 euros more for fuel than last year.

©Evgenia Stergioula via Unsplash - illustration image