Q8 Joins Eni and SOCAR in Capping Italian Fuel Prices as Rome Weighs Windfall Tax

Kuwait's Q8 will cap petrol prices at its Italian pumps for one month from October 1, the company said, joining Eni and Azerbaijan's SOCAR in a series of commitments that analysts read as an effort to head off a possible windfall levy on energy profits.

Q8 Italy said the cap was intended to deliver "tangible benefits" to motorists but did not disclose the price level it would set. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked Kuwait and the group operating the Q8 network in Italy for answering the government's call to energy companies to limit fuel prices.

Since Monday, SOCAR and Eni have held diesel at €2.19 ($2.48) per litre and petrol at €1.99 per litre.

Brokers Equita and Intermonte told clients the initiative could lower the risk of new taxes on windfall profits for Eni and other energy firms. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and other leading politicians have floated such a tax, and Giorgetti has not ruled out a domestic levy rather than waiting for a joint European move.

The finance ministers of Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Austria are pressing for an EU-wide windfall tax on energy companies, warning that consumers face one of the biggest oil supply shocks in decades and that rising living costs are fuelling voter discontent.

Meloni is searching for resources to help families and firms cope with soaring energy costs as she prepares the government's 2027 budget, due in October and her last before an election next year.

Italy's National Consumers Union welcomed Q8's move, saying about half of the country's pump network would now be applying a price cap. Industry ministry data showed the measures had so far done little to bring down average prices: self-service petrol stood at €2.126 per litre on Tuesday, compared with €2.159 on Sunday, while diesel eased to €2.335 from €2.377. Motorway prices were €2.180 for petrol and €2.383 for diesel.