Sticker shock as gas prices hit $9.31 a gallon in Greece. What does Kimberly Guilfoyle think?
Anybody got a bicycle?
“Gasoline reaches 2.12 euros – Despair among drivers,” one Greek headline screamed this morning. And with good reason: unleaded gas at would be the dollar equivalent of $9.31 a gallon would have most Americans either reaching for the nearest bicycle or a Kleenex to collect the tears.
What’s clear in the United States at least is that the robber barons of ExxonMobil and Chevron are fleecing customers so much it’s got the American public’s head spinning. Meanwhile besties, if you were planning a romantic Mamma Mia summer road trip through Greece, your wallet is about to cry. Real bad.
Here is the tea on why Greek gas stations are currently giving major villain energy:
The Math is Not Mathing: Unleaded gas has officially hit an average of €2.12 per liter ($2.15 by the weekend, because why not?). For our American besties who don’t speak metric: that translates to upwards of $9.31 per gallon. Yes, you read that right. North of nine dollars a gallon. Some estimates have that figure slightly below $9, but you get the picture.
The Culprit: Blame geopolitical drama. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the Straits of Hormuz (Hormuz news you can use?) are driving global crude oil prices into the stratosphere (Brent crude is casually chilling at $110 a barrel). Refinery supplies are stressed, and they’re passing that exact stress onto the pumps.
The Locals are Stressed: Gas station owners are hoping the government will lower taxes or put a ceiling on wholesale prices because the vibes are genuinely horrific. In places like Lesbos, fuel consumption has literally plummeted by 40% because people are just apparently... refusing to drive.
Worse News is Loading: Maria Zagka, the head of the Attica Gas Station Owners, warned that this isn’t even the final boss—prices are expected to climb even higher very soon.
⚠️ A Huge Warning for American Tourists This Summer: ⚠️ If you are planning to rent a car to drive around the Greek islands or the Peloponnese, remember to budget accordingly, or you’ll be stranded on the side of a mountain with zero euros left for feta. Remember, most rental cars in Europe are manual (stick shift), and if you want an automatic, you already pay a premium. Tacking on $9+ per gallon means a single road trip could easily cost more than your flights. But if you’re Donald Trump or one of his minions, of course, that’s probably just “peanuts.” 🥜
Surprisingly, gas prices are around the same in Europe and in the U.S. once you account for taxes. I was surprised to discover this, but it's what I found out when doing research for a recent article (not for Substack).
Your calculations are almost exactly right: gas is US$9.30 a gallon in Greece; and around $8.50 a gallon in Italy, where I live. The highest prices in the EU are in Holland: around $10.50 a gallon.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., it's around $4.50 per gallon.
But taxes on gas in most U.S. states are around $0.40-$0.60 per gallon, which means the "real" per-gallon price on gas is about $4.00. And most EU countries charge $4.00 to $6.00 in taxes per gallon. In Italy, it used to be higher but now the tax is around $4.50 per gallon (they lowered the tax recently). So that adds up to $8.50 per gallon at the pump. I don't know the tax figure for Greece, but I assume it's along the same lines.
I am NOT defending Ambassador Guilfoyle or the war in Iran. But I found it very interesting to know the context on this.
If you're curious to track gas prices across the EU, here's a link you can use: https://www.mappr.co/thematic-maps/fuel-prices-europe/