Fill Up the Tank in Luxembourg

Photo: Adam Lederer

The price of gasoline is currently outrageous in the Netherlands, about €1.60/liter (about $8.80 per U.S. gallon). What do residents do? They arbitrage, so that if they’re headed south they plan to drive through and fill up in Luxembourg, where the price is “only” about €1/liter. This is a bad idea, unless your trip would take you near there anyway. Also, because there are often long lines of liked-minded arbitrageurs waiting to fill up, this is a bad idea if your time is valuable. I would be happy to bet that you see relatively few Mercedes with Dutch plates filling up in Luxembourg, but lots of small VWs and other cars that cater to more middle-income drivers, those whose wage—and thus the value of whose time — is likely to be lower.