Germany weighs options as low water levels trigger price surges

Germany’s transport minister said the government is monitoring fuel-price spikes as low water levels spurred by intense heat this summer trigger higher prices in some regions of Europe’s largest economy. 

Steffen Bilger, who joined Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s cabinet on July 29, said he opposed a fuel rebate similar to one agreed to in April in response to the war in Iran as “no longer possible and no longer affordable.” But the coalition partners are in discussion as the effect of critically low river levels reverberates, including in higher prices. 

“That is of course another effect in certain regions,........

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